Daniel Kawczynski

The police, local authorities and other local agencies have a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to antisocial behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Last year the Beating Crime Plan laid out the Government's plan for tackling crime and ASB and committed to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the Act. It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.

The Safer Streets Fund has now allocated £70 million through three funds, the main purpose of which is to reduce neighbourhood and acquisitive crimes, but many of the projects will also help to improve public safety and tackle antisocial behaviour.

Local authorities are best placed to know the priorities in their own areas and have discretion to target funding according to local need.

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £53.9 billion in 2022-23.

The Government is committed to levelling up all areas of the UK. Telford in Shropshire is one of 101 towns with which we have agreed a Town Deal - worth £22.3 million, which included revenue funding for project development and delivery. We expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund this Spring and further details of that, and the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be announced soon. The Marches received £14 million in funding through the Getting Building Fund, this included £5 million to remodel Pride Hill shopping centre in Shrewsbury. We expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund this Spring and further details of that, and the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be announced soon.

The Government is committed to levelling up all areas of the UK. Telford in Shropshire is one of 101 towns with which we have agreed a Town Deal - worth £22.3 million, which included revenue funding for project development and delivery. We expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund this Spring and further details of that, and the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be announced soon. The Marches received £14 million in funding through the Getting Building Fund, this included £5 million to remodel Pride Hill shopping centre in Shrewsbury. We expect to launch the next round of the Levelling Up Fund this Spring and further details of that, and the forthcoming UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be announced soon.

The Government recognises how important multi-year certainty is to local authorities, and we aim to provide that whenever possible. The settlement for 2022-23 provides the resources and stability councils need, following the impact of pandemic.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources. Over the coming months, we will therefore work closely with the sector and other stakeholders and look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector before consulting on any potential changes.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources, including Shropshire Council.

We understand councils want clarity on local government funding reform. For this reason, we committed at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December to work closely with our stakeholders over the coming months to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, before consulting on any potential changes.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources, including Shropshire Council.

We understand councils want clarity on local government funding reform. For this reason, we committed at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December to work closely with our stakeholders over the coming months to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, before consulting on any potential changes.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources, including Shropshire Council.

We understand councils want clarity on local government funding reform. For this reason, we committed at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December to work closely with our stakeholders over the coming months to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, before consulting on any potential changes.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources, including Shropshire Council.

We understand councils want clarity on local government funding reform. For this reason, we committed at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December to work closely with our stakeholders over the coming months to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, before consulting on any potential changes.

The Government is committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources, including Shropshire Council.

We understand councils want clarity on local government funding reform. For this reason, we committed at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement in December to work closely with our stakeholders over the coming months to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, before consulting on any potential changes.

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.

Local authorities can also make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022/23 through this proposed Settlement. This includes the increase in Social Care Grant and the improved Better Care Fund alongside the additional 1% ASC precept and deferred flexibilities from last year's Settlement.

Further to this, the Government is committed to reforming health and social care, we have announced an additional £5.4 billion investment over three years to begin a comprehensive programme of reform for adult social care. In the provisional Settlement, we set out that £162 million of this funding will be allocated in 2022/23 to support local authorities as they prepare their markets for reform and to help move towards paying a fair cost of care. A further £600 million will be made available in both 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025.

For Shropshire Council, these proposals mean a proposed percentage increase to Core Spending Power of up to 7% from £264.5 million in 2021/22 to up to £283 million in 2022/23.

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.

For Shropshire Council, these proposals mean a proposed percentage increase to Core Spending Power of up to 7% from £264.5 million in 2021/22 to up to £283 million in 2022/23.

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.

For Shropshire Council, these proposals mean a proposed percentage increase to Core Spending Power of up to 7% from £264.5 million in 2021/22 to up to £283 million in 2022/23.

The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport and investing in cultural and heritage assets. We will open round 2 in Spring 2022 and will share further details in due course.

Devolution makes local politicians responsible for issues like transport, infrastructure and skills in their area; it enables those with local knowledge of the businesses and people to fix the problems their communities face; and it gives local residents the chance to judge how well they’re doing at the ballot box.

County Deals will enable local partners in Shropshire and in other counties to come together with powers exercised at the right level to make a difference for local communities. They also offer an opportunity for improvements in governance, efficiency and service delivery. As is the case with all devolution deals, County Deals are about strengthening local leadership, which is essential to levelling up, to delivering better outcomes and more joined-up public services at an appropriate spatial scale, to providing a convening focal point for innovation and local collaboration, and to improving local accountability. Further detail on County Deals will be set out in the Levelling Up White Paper.

We announced a review of the future of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) at last year’s Spring Budget, and are grateful to LEPs and other stakeholders for their engagement in the review process. We will set out our position on the future of LEPs in the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper.

We expect these and other commitments to be delivered in full.

The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets. Further detail on how the Fund will operate from 2022-23 onwards will be set out later this year.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Levelling Up Fund will involve a combination of national-level evaluation activity with project-level monitoring and evaluation. As part of business case development, local authorities are required to set out a proportionate plan for project-level monitoring and evaluation. In addition, national-level evaluation activity will include producing and publishing an M&E framework and guidance to support the development of project-level evaluations.

The £750 million package offered unprecedented support to allow charities and social enterprises to continue their vital work in our national effort to fight coronavirus. This funding will continue to support this work over the winter.

We are not able to replace every pound of funding charities would have received this year, and many organisations will need to assess what measures they need to take. Information on the wider measures the government has made available and details on how to access the support can be found on gov.uk. The Charity Commission has also published guidance on gov.uk, which sets out how charities can get support for their staff, advice on use of reserves, and other potential issues.

We will continue to work with the charity and social enterprise sectors to assess emerging needs and how we can best support them during the COVID-19 pandemic and through recovery.

Ensuring charities can safely begin fundraising activities will be a crucial part of the sector’s recovery. DCMS has worked closely with its sectors to publish guidance relating to COVID-19. This includes practical guidance and resources from the Fundraising Regulator and Chartered Institute of Fundraising supporting charities to safeguard the public, staff and volunteers as they plan to return to fundraising activities in a safe and responsible way. This can be viewed at;

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-dcms-sectors-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is working with HM Treasury on what can be done to provide further support since the decision was made to prevent fans returning to stadia from 1 October.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s cultural economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

The Secretary of State provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors. This support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August venues and organisations have been able to put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing. This follows the government’s five-stage roadmap outlining how DCMS will get audiences back into performing arts venues. We are now at Stage Four of the roadmap.

We are committed to continuing to work with the live events sector to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

We recognise that the events industry and its supply chain has been severely impacted by Covid-19. We continue to meet with the stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to discuss the specific issues facing the industry.

Events businesses can continue to make use of the broader support package available to them. This includes the Bounce Back Loans scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

We have worked closely with events stakeholders, through both the Visitor Economy and Events & Entertainment Working Groups, to develop Covid-19 Secure reopening guidance for the business events industry.

We are holding three business event pilots in September as part of our preparations to help the sector safely reopen and begin its recovery. If prevalence remains around or below current levels into the autumn, we will bring back audiences in stadia, and allow conferences and other business events to recommence in a COVID-19 Secure way, from 1 October. This step will only take place once we have a reliable scientific understanding of the impact of reopening schools on the epidemic.

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. As announced on 9 July, from 11 July, outdoor swimming pools will be able to open and from 25 July indoor gyms, leisure centres (including sports halls) and swimming pools in England should be able to reopen. These facilities will be able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.

The updated guidance can be found at the GOV.UK website and includes advice for providers of pool, gym and leisure facilities on cleaning, social distancing, and protection for staff to help venues get back up and running safely.

Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. This advice will be reviewed in February 2021. Due to the uncertainty of when and how COVID-19 national restrictions will be lifted, at this time providing a specific date for the resumption of educational visits would be inappropriate. Further guidance for schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Officials will continue to work across Government, with industry bodies and sector representatives to address the issues arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and will help them plan for the safe reintroduction of educational visits, including residential educational visits, when it is safe to do so.

There are no plans for underwriting of school deposits for residential trips.

Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. This advice will be reviewed in February 2021. Due to the uncertainty of when and how COVID-19 national restrictions will be lifted, at this time providing a specific date for the resumption of educational visits would be inappropriate. Further guidance for schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Officials will continue to work across Government, with industry bodies and sector representatives to address the issues arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and will help them plan for the safe reintroduction of educational visits, including residential educational visits, when it is safe to do so.

There are no plans for underwriting of school deposits for residential trips.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has decided that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Simon Lebus, to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. The Department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.

The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January 2021. The Department and Ofqual strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.

The government recognises the value of before and after-school clubs, not only toward economic recovery in enabling parents and carers to return and continue to work, but also in providing enriching activities and development opportunities to children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, we have ensured that these settings have been able to continue to stay open in the new lockdown for all vulnerable children, and for children of critical workers where it is to support critical workers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or to address a medical need. We have also ensured that essential youth services, such as 1-1 youth work and support groups have been able to continue for the duration of the national lockdown, to ensure vulnerable children and young people continue to have access to these valuable services.

We are acutely aware of the impact that COVID-19 has had on young people and the vital role our childcare and youth services play. That's why more than £60 million of the unprecedented £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently a £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. This is on top of £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.

In addition, the Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture.

We also recognise the financial pressures currently facing providers offering before, afterschool or holiday provision for children, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason we are strongly encouraging local authorities to support these providers using grants that have been made available to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced support for small businesses in response to COVID-19 through grant schemes administered by local authorities this financial year (2020-21). Since the introduction of national restrictions on 5th January 2021, local authorities can use the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from 5 January 2021 onwards to support businesses impacted by restrictions but not required to close. This scheme is an extension of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme but has been adapted for the period of national restrictions. The principal feature is that the payment period is initially extended to 42 days from 5 January 2021 rather than the 14-day payment cycle in tiers.

We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider what local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support vulnerable children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays in 2021.

The government recognises the value of before and after-school clubs, not only toward economic recovery in enabling parents and carers to return and continue to work, but also in providing enriching activities and development opportunities to children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, we have ensured that these settings have been able to continue to stay open in the new lockdown for all vulnerable children, and for children of critical workers where it is to support critical workers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or to address a medical need. We have also ensured that essential youth services, such as 1-1 youth work and support groups have been able to continue for the duration of the national lockdown, to ensure vulnerable children and young people continue to have access to these valuable services.

We are acutely aware of the impact that COVID-19 has had on young people and the vital role our childcare and youth services play. That's why more than £60 million of the unprecedented £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently a £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. This is on top of £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.

In addition, the Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture.

We also recognise the financial pressures currently facing providers offering before, afterschool or holiday provision for children, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason we are strongly encouraging local authorities to support these providers using grants that have been made available to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced support for small businesses in response to COVID-19 through grant schemes administered by local authorities this financial year (2020-21). Since the introduction of national restrictions on 5th January 2021, local authorities can use the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from 5 January 2021 onwards to support businesses impacted by restrictions but not required to close. This scheme is an extension of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme but has been adapted for the period of national restrictions. The principal feature is that the payment period is initially extended to 42 days from 5 January 2021 rather than the 14-day payment cycle in tiers.

We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider what local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support vulnerable children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays in 2021.

The Department is increasing core schools funding by £2.6 billion this year, and £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion by 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, compared to 2019-20. This investment has enabled us to increase funding for primary schools by 3.2% more per pupil through the schools national funding formula (NFF) next year, 2021-22, compared to this year.

Every primary school will receive at least £4,000 per pupil next year, up from at least £3,750 per pupil this year. On top of that, all schools, will receive additional funds to cover additional teachers’ pay and pension costs, adding a further £180 to the minimum per pupil amount.

We are also increasing the extra support the NFF provides to small, rural primary schools by increasing the maximum amount they can attract through the sparsity factor to £45,000, a significant increase from £26,000 this year. This has contributed to small and remote primary schools attracting 5.1% more per pupil through the NFF next year compared to this. This is the first step towards further expanding the support the NFF offers small and remote schools from 2022-23.

We keep school funding under review on an ongoing basis and the NFF is designed to respond to changes in need, in order for us to target funding where evidence indicates it is most needed.

EU nationals and their family members who start courses in England in the 2020/21 academic year will remain eligible for undergraduate and postgraduate financial support from Student Finance England for the duration of their course, provided they meet the existing residency requirement.

It is expected that EU students will travel to England to study if it is safe and sensible to do so. However, where eligible students are prevented, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, from residing in England whilst studying on a designated course, they will be considered temporarily absent and, therefore, resident here. This will allow them to access financial student support and qualify for home fee status. This includes students who have never resided in England, but intended to travel here to undertake a designated course of study during the 2020/21 academic year.

Staff in the Department have been working remotely since the middle of March and have been focused on dealing with the challenges posed by COVID-19.

In recent months, the Department has been working to ensure all our buildings are COVID-secure and putting in place plans to welcome staff safely back to the office.

Phase 1 saw a small number of volunteer staff return to the larger offices in August. Phase 2 started on 1 September, opening up to 20% capacity across our seven largest offices. Phase 3 is being planned and will enable 30-40% of capacity to be opened up, including at the Department’s smaller sites.

For the week commencing 14 September, approximately 13.5% of staff attended one of our offices. Since the Prime Minister announced a new series of measurements on Tuesday 22 September, the Department has advised staff to work from home where they can. Offices will remain open to support those colleagues without easy access to high quality home working facilities such as those in shared accommodation, and for new starters and colleagues earlier in their careers in need of more support. This is alongside a number of our colleagues who have continued to operate in their usual workplace throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, delivering vital public services.

Staff in the Department have been working remotely since the middle of March and have been focused on dealing with the challenges posed by COVID-19.

In recent months, the Department has been working to ensure all our buildings are COVID-secure and putting in place plans to welcome staff safely back to the office.

Phase 1 saw a small number of volunteer staff return to the larger offices in August. Phase 2 started on 1 September, opening up to 20% capacity across our seven largest offices. Phase 3 is being planned and will enable 30-40% of capacity to be opened up, including at the Department’s smaller sites.

For the week commencing 14 September, approximately 13.5% of staff attended one of our offices. Since the Prime Minister announced a new series of measurements on Tuesday 22 September, the Department has advised staff to work from home where they can. Offices will remain open to support those colleagues without easy access to high quality home working facilities such as those in shared accommodation, and for new starters and colleagues earlier in their careers in need of more support. This is alongside a number of our colleagues who have continued to operate in their usual workplace throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, delivering vital public services.

We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe, and to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. To help achieve this, Relationships Education for all primary school-aged pupils, Relationships and Sex Education for all secondary school-aged pupils, and Health Education for all pupils in state-funded schools, will become compulsory from 1 September 2020.

In light of the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, and following engagement with the sector, the Department is reassuring schools that although the subjects will still be compulsory from 1 September 2020, schools have flexibility over how they discharge their duty within the first year of compulsory teaching. For further information, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 10 June to Question 55660.

The principles of positive relationships apply as much online as they do offline especially as, by the end of primary school, many children will already be negotiating relationships seamlessly online and offline. The statutory guidance states that when teaching relationships content, teachers should address online safety and appropriate behaviour in a way that is relevant to pupils’ lives, including the importance of respect for others online even when they are anonymous. Within Health Education, pupils should be taught that although the internet is an integral part of life, they should understand the impact of positive and negative content online on mental and physical wellbeing, and how to consider the effect of their online actions on others and know how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online. The statutory guidance can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

To support schools, the Department is investing in a central package to help all schools to deliver these subjects. We are currently developing a new online service featuring training materials, an implementation guide and case studies. This will cover all of the teaching requirements in the statutory guidance. The first training module for teachers, covering mental wellbeing, is now available on GOV.UK, and additional content, including teacher training modules covering online safety, internet harms and media literacy will be added in the coming months.

We have also produced supporting information, Teaching Online Safety in Schools (2019), on how to teach about all aspects of internet safety, not just those relating to relationships, sex and health. This is to help schools deliver this in a coordinated and coherent way across their curriculum. This can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy makes clear that part of that UK wide approach will be acknowledging that the virus may be spreading at different speeds in different parts of the UK. Measures may need to change in different ways and at different times.

Education is a devolved matter and it is right that individual jurisdictions take decisions in line with their local circumstances.

There are various factors including different school term dates and concerns about rates of infection that mean governments in the devolved administrations need to take the decisions that are right for them.

The Department engages regularly and positively with our counterparts in the devolved administrations to collaborate on our shared education challenges, including on the wider opening of schools.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs.

The announcement also included new infrastructure grants to help farmers improve slurry storage and management from autumn 2022 under the Farming Investment Fund; alongside measures in the Farming Innovation Programme to boost research, including on nutrient management; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of urease inhibitors and timings of application rather than a complete ban.

Given current fertiliser prices, our priority must be to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products in future and we will support the development of these through the Farming Innovation Programme.

We must also look at alternatives to fertiliser, using techniques like nitrogen fixing legumes and clovers. We have therefore announced that the Government will pay farmers, through the Sustainable Farming Incentive, to help them with the costs of sowing nitrogen fixing plants and green manures in their crops – or in advance of their crops – to substitute some of their fertiliser requirements.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

In September 2021, the government provided limited financial support for CF Fertilisers’ operating costs for three weeks. The deal enabled CF Fertilisers’ Billingham plant to continue to operate while global gas prices remained high. It meant that key sectors, including food processing and nuclear power, were ensured supplies of CO2. Details of this support will be published in the usual way in the 2021-22 BEIS Annual Report and Accounts.

Industry then came to an agreement in October without taxpayer support to ensure CF Fertilisers on Teesside could continue to operate for 3 months. This market-led agreement was renewed in January 2022 and continues at the current time, even with high global gas prices.

In the longer term, the government would like to see the market take measures to improve resilience, and we are engaging on ways this could happen.

Global fertiliser prices including urea and ammonium nitrate have more than trebled compared to fertiliser prices this time last year, due to key input costs of natural gas. Prior to the onset of these increases we estimated that adding a urease inhibitor to urea fertilisers will increase the cost of urea by around 10% and the overall annual average cost of this new requirement to be around £8.3m in England (to farmers under the Red Tractor scheme in England). Delaying the changes to urea during this time allows farmers to have broader choice in the fertiliser they use and to take advantage of any differences in price between urea and ammonium nitrate, and shores up supply chains.

Agricultural commodity prices are closely linked to global gas prices. Farmers are facing increased input costs, including for fertiliser, feed and fuel. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and key sector representatives.

The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs.

The announcement also included new infrastructure grants to help farmers improve slurry storage and management from Autumn 2022 under the Farming Investment Fund ; alongside measures in the Farming Innovation Programme to boost research, including on nutrient management; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of ammonia inhibitors rather than a complete ban.

We recognise that fertiliser pressures on the livestock and arable sectors may differ, particularly over the farming seasons. On 31 March, Minister Prentis hosted the first meeting of the Fertiliser Task Force with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further fertiliser round-table sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks.

Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as National Farmers Union can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices. They can be found on the AHDB website.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years.

Strong domestic food production is an important factor in our food security. The UK enjoys considerable self-sufficiency in food, with production to supply ratios of nearly 100 percent in poultry, carrots, and swedes, and we also produce 88% of all the cereals that we need. In addition, UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production and ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply. The Government is also supporting farmers in England to become more efficient and has recently awarded grants of £48.5 million through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, helping boost productivity at this critical time.

Recognising the importance of food production, the Government has set out a legal obligation on the Government to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognised the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience, and the importance of strong domestic production to our food security. This report will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.

In addition, the Government has recently announced a number of steps it is taking to support farmers ahead of the growing season. Farmers are facing rising costs in inputs, including manufactured fertiliser prices, which we know has an impact on the productivity and profit of farms in this country. The Government’s measures include new slurry guidance and new slurry storage grants, a delay in planned changes to urea usage, and further details of the early rollout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive and opening of more farming grants worth more than £20 million to support farming R&D and productivity. The Government will also continue to work with farmers and growers, including through a newly created fertiliser roundtable, to identify solutions and better understanding of current pressures on farmers.

Agricultural commodity prices are closely linked to global gas prices. Farmers are facing increased input costs, including for fertiliser, feed and fuel. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and key sector representatives.

The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs; increased grants funding to help farmers and growers boost research and development; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of ammonia inhibitors rather than a complete ban.

We recognise that fertiliser pressures on the livestock and arable sectors may differ, particularly over the farming seasons. On 31 March Minister Prentis hosted the first meeting of the Fertiliser Taskforce with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further Fertiliser Taskforce sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks.

Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as NFU can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices. They can be found on the AHDB website.

Of the 3.98 million tonnes of inorganic mineral fertiliser used in Britain in 2018 approximately 40% of this was produced domestically. This amounted to approximately 1.5 million tonnes primarily of ammonium nitrate. Regarding 2021 figures we don’t yet have sight of the related British Survey Fertiliser Practice which outlines the types, amounts and how fertiliser is used across Britain for that year as these are usually released in June or July.

The UK sources fertiliser from a wide range of countries and also produces fertiliser such as ammonium nitrate domestically. The situation and impacts on farmers in particular, and industry more widely, from current high fertiliser prices, are being monitored closely.

There are nutrient management techniques and technologies that can be used alongside fertiliser products that help the efficacy of fertilisers and help maintain high yield and good quality produce. Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as National Farmers Union can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices.

Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, fertiliser producers and importers, and the key sector representative body for fertilisers, the Agricultural Industries Confederation. We are continuing to monitor the security and stability of fertiliser and other supply chains, and working closely with colleagues across Government and devolved administrations as well as industry figures to share knowledge and discuss all options available to tackle these issues. This will help inform how Defra and other industry bodies can best support farmers.

Defra is committed to promoting the use of less environmentally damaging fertilisers and better nutrient use efficiency. The current shortage of inorganic fertilisers provides an opportunity for farmers to continue exploring increasing their use of environmentally sustainable products and more efficient nutrient management methods.

In the short term, farmers are paying more for their fertiliser and must pass that cost on through the produce they sell. However, as the Secretary of State explained to the NFU conference in February, those increased costs will cause some farmers to use less fertiliser, some to use more nitrogen fixing cover crops as part of their rotation and some to seek to substitute at least a portion of their manufactured fertilisers with organic manures as a substitute. Many of the challenges we face in agriculture will require a fusion of the best new technology available to us with a rediscovery of some of the conventional principles of good farm husbandry. It is important that we keep our minds open to creative solutions.

We have committed to maintain the farming budget for the duration of this parliament. In England, we are seizing the opportunity of EU exit to move away from the EU’s unfair and ineffective approach. We will repurpose that money into new and improved environment schemes. The result is that the total level of funding will remain the same but will be focused on achieving better outcomes for farmers, farming and the environment. These schemes, a number of which are now live, will help farmers get their businesses ready for these changes. Including grants to invest in productivity measures, support new entrants, and support farmer-led innovation and improve farm resilience. Farmers including those in Shropshire will have the opportunity to engage in these offers as they continue to be rolled out.

It is important that we keep a close eye on farm profitability. Since the 2016 referendum result, farm incomes have generally increased. Farm incomes and commodity prices are very closely linked to exchange rates and to oil prices. There is also a growing world demand as the population grows and as demand for some proteins also expands.

As a result of this, we have seen the price of beef and sheep running at very strong levels. We have seen gross margins in some of the cereal sector increase by around 30%.

In the coming years, we want to build a thriving agricultural sector where the majority of farms are profitable, productive and economically sustainable without subsidies, and many are making a significant and widespread contribution to environmental, biodiversity and climate change goals.

We are aware that due to the increase in cost of natural gas across the globe, which is a key input for the production of ammonium nitrate-based fertiliser products, the cost of production of these fertiliser types has increased significantly due to higher energy prices. This has also increased the cost of other alternative fertiliser types. This is an issue affecting Europe and the global market with fertiliser companies reducing production due to high input costs. However, the recent deal announced with industry and CF Fertilisers ensures continued production of fertiliser in the UK and will help alleviate the pressure on the domestic market by helping to ensure continued supply.

Defra has been in regular contact with industry including the NFU and fertiliser producers and importers, and we have frequent contact with the key sector representative body for fertilisers, the Agricultural Industries Confederation. The situation and impact on farmers in particular and industry more widely is being monitored closely. However, decisions on pricing and supply of fertilisers are a matter for the market.

Alternatives to ammonium nitrate do exist and farmers will be looking closely at these options and how best they can be used. Support from producers of these products on how best to use them and to get the best nutrient uptake for crops has been offered to the sector.

Ammonium nitrate prices are at 12-month highs, having increased by around a half since last August. From August 2020 through to July 2021, the most recent month for which we have data, the price of imported ammonium nitrate has risen progressively from £202 per tonne to £311. This represents an increase of 53%. Over the same time period, the price of UK-produced ammonium nitrate has also risen, from £218 per tonne to £326, an increase of 50%.

The average price since January 2017 is £247 per tonne for UK-produced ammonium nitrate, and £235 for imported ammonium nitrate. Focussing on UK-produced ammonium nitrate, prices initially rose after January 2017, peaking at £293 per tonne in November 2018. Prices then fell, bottoming out at £200 per tonne in June 2020, before commencing their current increase. Prices are now at the upper end of their 5-year range and are returning to levels last seen in the early years of the previous decade.

The data on ammonium nitrate price movement is already in the public domain and there are no plans to publish any deeper assessment of the trends.

The Severn Valley Flood Risk Management Scheme has been granted £10 million to formulate a long-term holistic plan for the management of the Upper Severn catchment. This work will consider sustainable approaches to the management of the catchment from a variety of perspectives, including flood risk, water resources and the natural environment.

In the short to medium term the Environment Agency (EA) will continue to investigate the potential for flood risk management schemes for areas of Shrewsbury that are impacted by flooding. Work is progressing on the next phase of developing options for further assessment. The EA continues to deliver its annual routine maintenance programme for the River Severn and its tributaries, helping to ensure the flood risk is being effectively managed.

Shropshire Council is responsible for maintaining the bridges in Shrewsbury and, in conjunction with the EA, uses its permissive powers to reduce vegetation and remove obstructions around the English Bridge to prevent obstruction to flood flows. Whilst it is not sustainable, cost effective or a benefit to flooding to remove all the silt from the arches on the English Bridge, this management technique loosens the silt around the bridges so it can be transported by the river. Work of this nature was undertaken in spring 2021 at English Bridge and further work will be completed before autumn to reduce vegetation.

Historically there have always been islands downstream of the English Bridge due to the nature and shape of the channel and flows within it. Flood modelling has shown that complete removal of these islands would not result in any significant reduction in flooding.

The EA works in partnership with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Hafren Dyfrdwy to manage the water level of Vyrnwy and Clywedog reservoirs, together with United Utilities in the case of Lake Vyrnwy. Their primary function is public water supply. Their active management includes lowering of water levels from the autumn through to the spring to reduce the incidence of spill and provide some flood risk benefits downstream. The reservoirs are at the head of the catchment and play a very minor role in terms of mitigating flood risk to communities such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, with the vast majority of river flow originating from the catchments downstream of the reservoirs.

From April 2021, the Government is investing a record £5.2 billion in a new six-year capital investment programme to deliver around 2,000 flood schemes, benefitting every region of England, and will better protect 336,000 properties from flooding.

The details of the new six-year Capital Investment Programme for the River Severn Catchment are currently being developed by the Environment Agency in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities, including Shropshire Council.

The Environment Agency has recently completed an initial assessment of which further flood risk management measures for Shrewsbury may meet the cost benefit requirements for the programme. This includes the initial steps for a project to reduce flood risk in the Coleham area of Shrewsbury.

Last July, the Government announced it was investing £5.4 million of economic recovery funding in a large-scale carbon offsetting and natural flood risk management scheme that will include tree planting and habitat creation to reduce flood risk and capture carbon throughout the Severn Valley.

Across the wider Severn catchment, the Environment Agency continues to progress a pilot for a long-term investment pathway / Adaptation Pathway, thanks to £1.5 million of additional Government funding allocated as part of our Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This project will look ahead at least 50 years, to work out what flood defences are necessary in the long-term and when they should be built to avoid unnecessary further investment costs in future and missed opportunities.

The Environment Agency (EA) owns and operates 13 flood defence assets in the Shrewsbury area, which provide flood protection to business and communities from the River Severn and its tributaries. These existing flood risk management assets are maintained to ensure they remain operational, protecting the communities they are designed for, with dedicated teams in place to operate them 24 hours a day.

After the 2019/2020 winter foods, £605,000 was allocated to repair flood defence assets, covering both the Frankwell and Coleham flood risk management schemes which together provide protection to around 250 properties. All work has been completed and these schemes are fully operational. The EA is currently planning further maintenance work on these defences following the winter 2020/2021 floods.

Last year, the Government announced that up to £170 million would be spent to accelerate work on 22 shovel-ready flood defence schemes, to begin construction before the end of 2021/2022. This included up to £30 million for the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme located in Shrewsbury, and up to £5.4 million for a scheme combining natural flood risk management, tree planting and habitat creation to reduce flood risk and capture carbon throughout the Severn Valley.

Across the wider Severn catchment, the EA continues to progress a pilot for the government funded long term investment pathways/Adaptation Pathways, with £1.5 million secured from April 2021, for six years. This project will look ahead at least 50 years, to work out what flood defences are necessary in the long term and when they should be built to avoid unnecessary investment costs in future and missed opportunities.

The EA, along with other members of the River Severn Partnership, is currently investigating what further measures may be implemented to reduce flood risk in Shrewsbury. As well as the potential for new proposals, on which the EA is working with local partners, the role and lifespan of existing flood risk management assets with regard to climate change, is also being considered.

As fisheries is a devolved matter, this information relates to England only. In England, the Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for ensuring conservation and maintaining the diversity of freshwater fish and conserving their aquatic environment. In order to achieve this, last year the EA worked with over 150 partners and invested nearly £27m in fisheries projects. This work has included improving fish passage, fish stocking, river restoration and improving water quality in line with the Water Framework Directive. In total, around 15,000km of river has been protected or improved since 1995 to benefit fisheries and nature conservation.

The Government committed at Budget 2020 to a doubling of our investment in the next floods capital programme, providing long term certainty on funding levels up to 2027. Starting from April 2021, we will invest £5.2 billion in a six-year capital investment programme for flood and coastal erosion risk management to build over 2,000 new flood defences. This investment will better protect 336,000 properties, including 290,000 homes, from flooding and coastal erosion by 2027.

In addition, up to £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on 22 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021, which will provide an immediate boost to jobs supporting local economies as communities recover from the impact of coronavirus. A further £200 million will be invested in the Innovative Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This will help over 25 local areas over six years to take forward wider innovative actions that improve their resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.

There are many factors that contribute to flooding, including but not limited to the built environment. National planning policy supported by planning practice guidance are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in England. This enables the building of new homes and developments which are more resilient to flooding and ensures that there are clear safeguards for protecting people and property.

No development should take place until the developer has had approval, from the local planning authority, of a detailed sustainable surface water drainage scheme for the site. The drainage scheme shall demonstrate that any surface water (for all rainfall durations and intensities up to and including the climate change adjusted critical 100yr storm) can be accommodated and disposed of without discharging onto the highway and without increasing flood risk on or off-site.

These schemes can include the creation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which reduce the risk of surface water flooding, as well as delivering water quality, biodiversity and amenity benefits, helping to make great places to live.

Planning policy ensures that SuDS are provided in all new major developments, unless there is clear evidence that this would be inappropriate. This is in addition to requirements that SuDS should be given priority in new developments in flood risk areas. A 2018 review of the application and effectiveness of planning policy for sustainable drainage systems found that 87% of the sample of approved planning applications explicitly stated that SuDS would feature in the proposed development.

Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) have responsibility for local flood risk management. This means ensuring risks of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses, where this is no district council, are identified and managed as part of a local flood risk management strategy.

In managing these risks an LLFA will work closely with other Risk Management Authorities. This includes the local highways authorities, who are responsible for highway and gully maintenance and water companies who, under Section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, have a duty to maintain public sewers to ensure that their area is effectually drained.

When flooding occurs LLFAs investigate, to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, which Risk Management Authorities have relevant flood risk management functions and whether they have exercised those functions. These are called Section 19 investigations because the duty is set out in Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. LLFAs must publish the results of the investigation and notify the relevant Risk Management Authorities.

Water companies, specifically sewerage undertakers, have a statutory duty under section 94(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 to provide, improve and extend a system of public sewers to ensure that an area is "effectually drained".

However, drainage alone cannot prevent flooding, and the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 ("the 2010 Act") establishes flood Risk Management Authorities (RMAs), to address the risk of flooding. The 2010 Act defines RMAs as the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Lead Local Flood Authorities, water and sewerage undertakers, highway authorities, district authorities and Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs).

All RMAs must act in a manner that is consistent with the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy. The 2010 Act requires RMAs to cooperate with each other and gives them information sharing powers to facilitate cooperation. They have flexibility to form informal partnerships and to act on behalf of one another.

In addition, the Environment Bill will require sewerage undertakers to produce Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans on a statutory basis which aim to assist such partnerships and collaborative working. Plans will fully assess an undertaker's network capacity and set out the measures undertakers plan to take to develop their drainage and sewerage systems. Undertakers started developing plans on a non-statutory basis in 2018.

Sewerage systems are used by water and sewerage companies to collect sewage (comprising both rainwater run-off and waste water from domestic, industrial and commercial premises). This is then transferred to sewage treatment plants for treatment before discharge to permitted water quality standards. This is a legal use of the sewerage system and it would therefore not be appropriate to impose penalties for this use.

Separately from the sewerage system, there are surface water drainage systems that collect rainwater run-off from roads and urban areas and discharge direct to local waters. Water companies do not allow sewage to enter surface water drainage systems.

During and after heavy or prolonged rainfall, the capacity of sewerage systems can be exceeded. When this happens, storm overflows act as relief valves to discharge excess sewage combined with rainwater to rivers or the sea. This protects properties from flooding and prevents sewage backing up into streets and homes during heavy storm events.

I met water company CEOs last year and made clear that the volume of sewage discharged from storm overflows into rivers and other waterways in extreme weather must be reduced. To achieve this, our new Storm Overflows Taskforce has been established, bringing together representatives from government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs to set out clear proposals to address the harm and frequency of sewage discharged into our rivers and other waterways from storm overflows. As announced on 22 January, this Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows.

The Environment Agency currently regulates water companies in their operation of storm overflows to ensure they only discharge under strict permitted conditions. Where discharges occur outside of these conditions, the EA investigates and takes appropriate action, which includes enforcement action if necessary.

The EA has brought 44 prosecutions against water companies in the last five years, securing fines of £34 million. £7.9 million has also been donated to environmental and wildlife trusts organisations in the same period through enforcement undertakings, a voluntary agreement which will include a donation to environmental charities to restore any harm done.

Flooding has a devastating impact on communities, businesses and individuals.

With localised flooding incidents, local authorities are expected to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities from within existing budgets.

The decision to trigger financial support from Government is taken collectively by Ministers in the event of a severe weather events with significant wide area impacts. In reaching a decision, Ministers consider factors such as severity, duration and extent of the impacts. The reported impacts from Storm Christoph up until now have been lower than would justify activation of the Flood Recovery Framework of support schemes. We continue to monitor the impact on affected areas and will assess whether further support is needed.

During the unprecedented flooding in November 2019 and the storms which followed in winter 2019/2020, the Government announced Property Flooding Resilience (PFR) repair grants of up to £5,000 to help eligible properties affected by floods (homes, charities and businesses) become more flood resilient. The repair grants apply to those affected in district or unitary authorities that have 25 or more severely flooded properties. The grants are administered by eligible local authorities, with Defra reimbursing local authorities for grants paid for eligible properties. Local authorities are responsible for assessing eligibility of applications. The most recent figures show that 47 district or unitary councils with over 7000 properties are eligible in England for the November 2019 and February 2020 PFR repair schemes. This includes 458 properties in the county of Shropshire.

The Government has doubled the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years. This will better protect a further 336,000 properties including homes and non-residential properties such as schools and hospitals. On 1 February 2021, Defra published a Call for Evidence to explore whether any specific changes should be made to strengthen the assessment of local circumstances in this programme. This includes looking at potential changes to the funding formula to provide further benefit to frequently flooded communities. It will also explore further ways to increase the uptake of property flood resilience measures to enable householders and businesses to better prepare for flooding. The Call for Evidence closes on 29 March 2021.

Flooding has a devastating impact on communities, businesses and individuals.

With localised flooding incidents, local authorities are expected to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities from within existing budgets.

The decision to trigger financial support from Government is taken collectively by Ministers in the event of a severe weather events with significant wide area impacts. In reaching a decision, Ministers consider factors such as severity, duration and extent of the impacts. The reported impacts from Storm Christoph up until now have been lower than would justify activation of the Flood Recovery Framework of support schemes. We continue to monitor the impact on affected areas and will assess whether further support is needed.

During the unprecedented flooding in November 2019 and the storms which followed in winter 2019/2020, the Government announced Property Flooding Resilience (PFR) repair grants of up to £5,000 to help eligible properties affected by floods (homes, charities and businesses) become more flood resilient. The repair grants apply to those affected in district or unitary authorities that have 25 or more severely flooded properties. The grants are administered by eligible local authorities, with Defra reimbursing local authorities for grants paid for eligible properties. Local authorities are responsible for assessing eligibility of applications. The most recent figures show that 47 district or unitary councils with over 7000 properties are eligible in England for the November 2019 and February 2020 PFR repair schemes. This includes 458 properties in the county of Shropshire.

The Government has doubled the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years. This will better protect a further 336,000 properties including homes and non-residential properties such as schools and hospitals. On 1 February 2021, Defra published a Call for Evidence to explore whether any specific changes should be made to strengthen the assessment of local circumstances in this programme. This includes looking at potential changes to the funding formula to provide further benefit to frequently flooded communities. It will also explore further ways to increase the uptake of property flood resilience measures to enable householders and businesses to better prepare for flooding. The Call for Evidence closes on 29 March 2021.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies previously given on 1 October 2020 for PQ 94381, 9 October 2020 for PQ 97520, 9 October 2020 for PQ 97519, 16 October 2020 for PQ 100332 and 24 November 2020 for PQ 115549.

In recent years, investment in defences has been effective at better protecting properties and reducing the impacts of flooding on people’s lives and livelihoods. We have seen progressively fewer properties flooded following recent incidents, avoiding more damages to people, businesses, landowners and infrastructure than might otherwise have been. In England, during the winter 2019/20 approximately 4,600 properties were sadly flooded while 128,000 properties were better protected from flooding.

In the last 12 months, the Environment Agency (EA) has completed around 20,000 inspections of flood assets that were damaged in the winter 2019/20 floods. The EA has a prioritised programme of repairs based on risk to lives and livelihoods underway. All of the flood defences damaged last year have either been repaired or have contingency plans in place to reduce the risk to their communities this winter.

Throughout the year, the EA has also continued to build and maintain flood risk management assets. The EA is on track to better protect 300,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion between 2015 and 2021. Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, the EA worked with other Risk Management Authorities to complete approximately 176 flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes which helped better protect approximately 45,400 homes from flooding and 3,200 homes from coastal erosion. The EA is working through the River Severn Partnership to address long-term resilience.

During the flooding at the end of December 2020, 692 metres of demountable defences were erected across the country, 672m of which were in the West Midlands. 723 metres of temporary barriers were erected, 423 metres of which were in the West Midlands. This meant that over 9,300 properties were protected from flooding, with over 3,700 being in the West Midlands. The majority of these were within the River Severn catchment.

The EA has continued to engage virtually with communities at risk of flooding during the Coronavirus pandemic, adapting its approach by sharing scheme updates and consulting with local residents in a safe way.

The EA’s autumn Flood Action Campaign helped ensure that communities are better prepared and know how to check their flood risk with key messages around a three-point plan to PREPARE, ACT, SURVIVE. Over 1.4 million properties are signed up to receive free flood warnings.

Following the flooding in winter 2019/20 and again in February 2020 following storms Ciara and Dennis, the Government announced Property Flood Resilience (PFR) repair grants of up to £5,000 in affected areas to help eligible homes, charities and businesses become more flood resilient. The repair grants apply to those affected in district or unitary authorities that have 25 or more severely flooded properties.

The most recent figures (held by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government) show that 18 district or unitary councils with over 2300 properties are eligible in England for the November 2019 PFR repair scheme. Over 29 districts or unitary councils (including Shropshire Council, which includes Shrewsbury) with over 5000 properties are eligible in England for the February 2020 PFR repair scheme.

In recognition of the challenges created by the Coronavirus pandemic, both the 2019 and 2020 schemes have been extended by nine months to give homeowners and businesses more time to carry out repairs and local authorities a greater period to process the grants.

Local authorities on the November scheme now have until 31 December 2021 to recover their costs while local authorities on the February scheme have until 1 July 2022.

The Environment Agency (EA) has published information on schemes along the River Severn via the following links:

• Tenbury Flood Risk Management Scheme: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/west-midlands/tenbury-wells-flood-risk-management-scheme/
• Severn Valley Water Management Scheme https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/west-midlands/svwms/

The EA is having early discussions with community representatives. It is also working with partners to develop plans for engaging communities, businesses, landowners and members of the public for each of the potential schemes along the River Severn. The EA plans to engage with businesses, landowners and members of the public and will use a variety of methods in line with Government’s Covid-19 guidelines. Details will be publicised at the appropriate time and will include information on how members of the public can inform decisions on the potential schemes.

Information about each of the projects, which are part of the River Severn Partnership will also be shared on their website here: http://www.riversevernpartnership.org.uk

The first quarter of 2021 will see the completion of the Government’s six-year, £2.6 billion capital investment programme to better protect 300,000 homes in England from flooding, which commenced in 2015.

Starting in April 2021, the Government will invest a record £5.2 billion in a new six-year capital investment programme. This programme will deliver around 2,000 flood schemes, across every region of England, and will better protect 336,000 properties from flooding. This new investment is the most comprehensive ever and is in addition to support to help households and business get back on their feet more quickly after flooding.

Alongside these key capital programmes, a further up to £170 million will be invested to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020/21 or 2021/22. Twenty-two areas across England will benefit from this immediate boost to jobs supporting the local economy as communities recover from the impact of coronavirus. This includes an allocation of up to £30 million for the Severn Valley Flood Risk Management Scheme, which is conditional on a partnership contribution being secured prior to commencement of delivery.

In addition, a further £200 million will be provided for local innovative resilience projects which reduce flood risk, this Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme will run for six years from 2021. The funding will help twenty-five local areas to take forward wider innovative actions that improve their resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 December 2020, PQ UIN 125221.

In addition the Environment Agency (EA) continues to work alongside Local Resilience Forums to plan, exercise and prepare for responding to flooding. The EA is ready to provide its flood warning service and to deploy local flood protection measures and barriers along the River Severn.

The EA would welcome the hon. Member’s support to urge his constituents to remain vigilant and take steps to protect themselves from the risk of flooding by signing up for free flood warnings via Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or by visiting the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings.

The River Severn Partnership (RSP) is led by the Environment Agency (EA) alongside Shropshire Council. It has united local authorities, local enterprise partnerships, water companies through the Water Resources West group, the EA and Natural Resources Wales.

The RSP will deliver a long-term programme addressing water management across the Severn Catchment. This will be achieved through a proactive, coordinated and collaborative approach to flood risk management, water quality, environmental enhancement and an integrated approach to water resource management to deal with the impacts of climate change.

The EA is updating the River Severn modelling and flood mapping to incorporate the latest available data. The £250,000 grant-in-aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021. This new model will also deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and will inform our advice in response to proposals to develop within the catchment.

The EA in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment is currently putting together the next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 – 2027/28.

The emerging Severn Valley water management plan seeks to reduce the risk of flooding from the River Severn for nearly 3,000 homes and businesses. The proposals aim to explore options of storing flood water to reduce the amount of water flowing down the river at times of flood, while also looking at ways to store it for use when needed.

The Environment Agency (EA), along with other members of the River Severn partnership, is investigating options to reduce overall flood risk and benefit communities along the River Severn, now and from the increasing risk of climate change.

The EA is also considering new approaches for managing the effects of too much and too little water, for example with the Severn Valley Water Management scheme, and land use practice in the upper catchment.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is one of the partners in the River Severn Partnership and has represented farmers in a number of meetings where projects have been discussed. On 1 December, the joint chairs of the River Severn Partnership (EA and Shropshire Council) met the NFU to hear members’ views and discuss the early options appraisal work for the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme and to discuss plans for future engagement and consultation with landowners.

Over the winter of 2019-20 the River Severn catchment saw some of the highest river levels ever recorded. Unfortunately, 1,600 properties were flooded across the West Midlands. The Environment Agency's (EA) flood risk management assets prevented over 14,500 properties from flooding.

Since the winter floods, the EA has been inspecting and repairing flood assets where necessary that were affected by significant flooding. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the EA has continued to maintain its existing assets and has dedicated teams in place to operate them 24 hours a day. It is also making sure our rivers are clear from debris.

In the 2020 budget, the Government announced a £120 million package to repair flood risk management assets damaged as a result of the winter floods. For the Severn corridor, the EA secured £4.2 million, covering 18 projects. Repair work to these assets is ongoing, but the defences will remain fully operational and will function as intended, including both demountable and temporary defences at a number of locations such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.

The EA has also been carrying out incident response preparation and training to ensure we can respond to whatever weather comes our way.

The National Farmers Union is a partner on the River Severn Partnership. It has represented farmers in a number of meetings where projects have been discussed, including the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme.

The Environment Agency and Shropshire Council have attended events with some local communities, however this has been reduced because of COVID-19 restrictions. Further engagement with all stakeholders and members of the public regarding project options for the River Severn, under the banner of the River Severn Partnership, will commence shortly.

The River Severn Partnership website is also due to go live imminently, which will provide further avenues for engagement with both the public and other stakeholders on any project proposals.

Progress on key schemes under the banner of the River Severn Partnership remains on course. While the COVID-19 outbreak has caused some minor impacts on delivery, the Environment Agency has developed safe systems of working to ensure that ongoing work on capital projects has continued. Site visits are carried out when required. Meetings with stakeholders have been carried out virtually. The deployment of existing barrier schemes and temporary flood barriers for communities that need them will continue as normal this winter.

The recent Budget announcement confirmed that the Government will double the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years from 2021, better protecting a further 336,000 properties including 290,000 homes.

The £5.2 billion capital programme will continue to be allocated in accordance with Defra’s Partnership Funding Policy. This policy clarifies the level of investment communities can expect from Defra so that it is clear what levels of partner funding they need to attract from other sources to allow projects to go ahead.

In July this year, the Government announced that up to an additional £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021. The Government awarded the River Severn Partnership a significant additional investment from this fund which is providing up to £30 million for the Severn Valley.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

There are around 6,500 trained staff across the country, ready to respond to flooding. The Environment Agency (EA) may be responding to several concurrent incidents at the same time as adhering to Government coronavirus guidelines.

This year, the EA has completed around 20,000 inspections of flood risk management assets. The EA is making sure that any flood defences and equipment damaged during last winter’s flooding are either fixed or will have robust contingency plans in place. Around 160 projects will likely have contingency plans, such as temporary defences, in place that will ensure communities are well prepared for winter.

This winter, the EA’s Flood Action Campaign is asking communities to PREPARE, ACT, SURVIVE. Over 1.4 million properties are already signed up to receive free flood warnings.

Since winter 2015-16, the EA has invested in kit including 40 kilometres of temporary flood barriers and 250 high volume pumps.

Since April 2015 the EA has completed over 700 new flood and coastal defence projects. These include the Ipswich tidal defence barrier, phase 1 of the Exeter flood defence scheme and the Croston flood risk management scheme. Over 250,000 homes have already been better protected, working with partner risk management authorities. Of this total, 160,000 homes have benefitted from reduced flood risk delivered by EA schemes, and 90,000 homes at reduced risk through other Risk Management Authority led projects.

The EA is investing £500,000 in additional equipment and training to improve availability of its suppliers and specialists in flood incidents.

For part (a) specific to the Rivern Severn, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided to his recent PQ 97520 asking “what steps his Department is taking to prevent flooding along the River Severn in winter 2020-21.” This is available at:

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-30/97520

The Environment Agency, along with other members of the River Severn partnership, is currently investigating options to reduce flood risk along the River Severn. As well as the potential for new measures, this is taking into account the role and lifespan of existing flood risk management assets and how these might be affected by climate change.

The lifespan of any new flood risk management asset forms a key part of the assessment of their benefits when considering the expenditure of public funds.

The Environment Agency routinely maintains its existing flood risk management assets and has dedicated teams in place to operate them 24 hours a day. So far this financial year 4,260 asset inspections have been carried out across the Severn catchment, ensuring they remain operational, protecting the communities they are designed for.

The Environment Agency, along with other members of the River Severn partnership, is currently investigating options to reduce flood risk along the River Severn. The partnership is taking a catchment based approach, looking at a range of options, both traditional and innovative, to better manage water across the Severn Basin.

The effects of any proposal, in terms of both its benefits and impacts, are carefully considered as part of the development process in order to ensure they are acceptable to all stakeholders and do not increase risk to others.

The River Severn Partnership (RSP) is led by the Environment Agency (EA) alongside Shropshire Council. It has united local authorities, local enterprise partnerships, water companies through the Water Resources West group, the EA and Natural Resources Wales.

The RSP will deliver a long-term programme addressing water management across the Severn Catchment. This will be achieved through a proactive, coordinated and collaborative approach to flood risk management, water quality, environmental enhancement and an integrated approach to water resource management.

The EA is updating the River Severn modelling and flood mapping to incorporate the latest available data. The £250,000 grant-in-aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021. This new model will also deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and will inform our advice in response to proposals to develop within the catchment.

The EA in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment is currently putting together the next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 – 2027/28.

Around £400,000 Flood Defence Grant in Aid is being invested in the RSP area to accelerate potential scheme delivery in areas following last winter’s floods.

Ahead of this winter, the EA continues to work alongside Local Resilience Forums to plan, exercise and prepare for responding to flooding. The EA is ready to provide its flood warning service and to deploy local flood protection measures and barriers along the River Severn.

I refer the hon Member to the answers given for PQs 94381 and 97520.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-23/94381

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-30/97520

The next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22–2027/28 is currently being put together by the Environment Agency in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment including Shropshire Council.

This six-year programme will be based on indicative bids put forward in previous years as well as new project bids and will use the updated Partnership Funding rules recently published on the GOV.UK website.

Some of those projects currently put forward to form the next six-year programme include the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme, Tenbury Wells, Oswestry Surface Water Scheme, Beales Corner Bewdley as well as a large-scale Carbon Offsetting and Natural Flood Risk Management Scheme which has the potential to benefit the whole of the River Severn.

Indicative proposals at this stage in the process suggest the new programme could deliver 3,000 homes better protected from flooding. Business cases will formalise the outcomes that these and other projects will deliver in due course.

In addition, the Government funding announcement on 14 July secured significant additional investment for the River Severn Partnership, providing £30 million for the Severn Valley, £4.9 million for Tenbury Wells and £5.4 million for carbon offsetting work linked to the Partnership.

In July this year, the Government announced that an additional £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021. The Government awarded the River Severn Partnership a significant additional investment from this fund which is providing up to £30 million for the Severn Valley, in addition to up to £4.9 million for Tenbury Wells.

The recent Budget announcement confirmed that the Government will double the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years from 2021, better protecting a further 336,000 properties including 290,000 homes.

The £5.2 billion capital programme will continue to be allocated in accordance with Defra’s Partnership Funding Policy. This policy clarifies the level of investment communities can expect from Defra so that it is clear what levels of partner funding they need to attract from other sources to allow projects to go ahead.

In July, the Government announced that up to an additional £170 million will be spent to accelerate work on shovel-ready flood defence schemes that will begin construction in 2020 or 2021. The Government awarded the River Severn Partnership a significant additional investment from this fund which is providing up to £30 million for the Severn Valley, and up to £4.9 million for Tenbury Wells.

In addition, in March the Government announced its national £120 million package to repair flood risk management assets damaged as a result of the winter floods. £4.2 million will be for assets on the Severn corridor, which will cover 18 projects. Repair work to these assets is currently ongoing though, in the meantime, the defences will remain fully operational, including both demountable and temporary defences at a number of locations such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.

The Environment Agency’s (EA) River Severn river modelling and flood mapping is currently being updated to incorporate the latest available data, including information gathered as a result of last winter’s flooding events. The £250,000 Grant-in-Aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021.

As well as updating flood risk mapping, this new flood model will deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and will inform the Environment Agency’s advice in response to proposals to develop within the catchment. It is already being used to support delivery of the ambitions of the River Severn Partnership, including the Shrewsbury Water Management Scheme which has the potential to deliver significant flood risk, environmental, water resource and growth benefits. The scheme is in the early stages of development and has already benefitted from government funding of £30 million.

In addition, in July the Government chose the River Severn Partnership alongside three other places to test and develop climate adaptive pathway plans, providing £1.5 million of funding from the Innovative Resilience Programme. This will enable the Environment Agency to work with local partners through the River Severn Partnership to assess a range of climate change scenarios, and identify the right current and future decisions required to manage the risk of flooding and coastal change.

The Environment Agency’s River Severn river modelling and flood mapping is currently being updated to incorporate the latest available data. The £250,000 grant-in-aid investment will deliver a completed model by the end of 2021.

This new flood model will not only provide an update to the flood risk mapping but also deliver evidence to support the flood warning service, potential future flood schemes, and ensure safe development within the catchment. It is already being used to support delivery of the ambitions of the River Severn Partnership.

The next six-year Flood and Coastal Risk Management Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 – 2027/28 is currently being put together by the Environment Agency in partnership with all other Flood Risk Management Authorities along the River Severn Catchment including Shropshire Council.

This six-year programme will be based on indicative bids put forward in previous years as well as new project bids and will use the updated Partnership Funding rules recently published on the GOV.UK website.

Some of those projects currently put forward to form the next six-year programme include the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme, Tenbury Wells, Oswestry Surface Water Scheme, Beales Corner Bewdley as well as a large scale Carbon Offsetting and Natural Flood Risk Management Scheme which has the potential to benefit the whole of the River Severn.

Indicative proposals at this stage in the process suggest the new programme could deliver 3,000 homes better protected from flooding. Business cases will formalise the outcomes that these and other projects will deliver in due course.

Over the winter of 2019/20 the River Severn catchment saw some of the highest river levels ever recorded. While, unfortunately, around 1,600 properties were flooded across the West Midlands, Environment Agency (EA) flood risk management assets prevented over 14,500 properties from flooding.

Since the winter floods, the EA has been delivering its recovery programme. This is to ensure that all flood assets that were affected by significant flooding are inspected and repaired where necessary.

In the 2020 budget, the Government announced a national £120 million package to repair flood risk management assets damaged as a result of the winter floods. For the Severn corridor’s assets the Environment Agency secured £4.2 million, covering 18 projects. Ahead of this winter, EA flood risk management assets in Shrewsbury have been fully inspected. Repair work to these assets is currently ongoing. However, throughout this process the defences will remain fully operational and will function as intended, including both demountable and temporary defences at a number of locations such as Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.

As well as this asset repair work, and despite the challenges of Covid-19, the Environment Agency is continuing to deliver its annual routine maintenance programme for the River Severn. This helps to ensure any blockages or debris that may cause an increase in flood risk have been managed.

Over the winter of 2019/20 the River Severn catchment saw some of the highest river levels ever recorded. While, unfortunately, around 1,600 properties were flooded across the West Midlands, Environment Agency (EA) flood risk management assets prevented over 14,500 properties from flooding.

Since the winter floods, the EA has been delivering its recovery programme. This is to ensure that all of its flood assets that were affected by significant flooding are inspected and repaired where necessary.

In the 2020 budget, Government announced a national £120 million package to repair flood risk management assets damaged as a result of the winter floods. For Shrewsbury’s assets the EA secured £605,000, covering both Frankwell and Coleham flood risk management schemes. Ahead of this winter, EA flood risk management assets in Shrewsbury have been fully inspected. Repair work to these defences is currently ongoing, however the defences will remain fully operational throughout this process.

As well as asset repairs, the EA continues to deliver its annual routine maintenance programme for the River Severn. This helps to ensure any blockages or debris that may cause an increase in flood risk have been managed and that Shrewsbury is winter-ready, should further flooding occur.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 September 2020 to Question 90985.

[https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-16/90985]

This Government is committed to supporting our farming industry. Our ambition is for this country to have a thriving, self-reliant and resilient farming sector.

The Government appreciates that the food and farming sectors are currently facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and is grateful for the hard work farmers have done to maintain food supplies

In response to the pandemic, we introduced a range of measures to support the agriculture sector, including farmers and agricultural businesses in Shropshire. These included: easements to competition law to help producers get food where it was needed; a dairy support scheme; support for various AHDB promotional campaigns and the opening of intervention and storage aid schemes for various products. Employees in the food sector were also designated as key workers and there has been a temporary relaxing of the normal rules on drivers' hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors.

Farmers have also, where eligible, been able to apply for public support through the various Covid-19 related Government schemes including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, business rates relief, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Agriculture is a devolved matter and now we have left the EU each UK administration has the flexibility to develop agricultural policy suited to their own unique circumstances. There is much merit in working cooperatively with the Welsh Government and we are working closely with all the devolved administrations on an administrative agricultural support framework. The framework will cover cross border issues. There are many farms along the border between England and Wales, so there is value in working cooperatively with the Welsh Government and learning from one another.

Animal health disease control policy is a devolved matter. Defra Ministers meet regularly with their counterparts in the devolved administrations via the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The UK Chief Veterinary Officer also meets regularly with her counterparts in the UK devolved administrations to discuss animal health issues.

This Government is fully committed to protecting the rights of migrant workers and ensuring that they are treated fairly in the workforce, including seasonal workers in agriculture.

In recent years, there has been tremendous change to wider employment legislation, which protects and benefits workers in all sectors of the economy. The national minimum wage has been raised and the new national living wage introduced.

A key objective of the Seasonal Workers Pilot, a scheme for non-EEA migrant workers, is to ensure that they are adequately protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The operators of the scheme are licensed by the Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA). The GLAA ensure that all workers are placed with farms who adhere to all relevant legislation, including paying the National Minimum Wage.

We are actively monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 and related control measures with significant input from industry stakeholders.

We are urgently considering which measures could be put in place to help mitigate the impact of the current situation on access to labour in the agri-food chain.

The Chancellor has announced an initial £330 billion will be made available to support UK businesses. He also set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

After the transition to a new immigration system in 2021, businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status and there will continue to be other flexibility in the system and the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has already pointed to the estimated 170,000 recently arrived non-EU citizens currently in low-skilled occupations.

The EU Settlement Scheme, which opened in March 2019, has already received more than 3.3 million applications from EU citizens who are able to stay and work in the UK – and people have until June 2021 to apply.

The government will introduce a new points based system from January 2021 which will include an employer-led route for skilled workers to enter the UK, both EU and non-EU citizens. The skilled worker route will not be capped, there will be no requirement to conduct a Resident Labour Market Test and the salary and skills thresholds have been lowered.

These changes will ensure that a wide pool of skilled workers will be able to come to the UK from anywhere in the world.

The River Severn Partnership is seeking to deliver a holistic whole water management approach to address both flood risk and water security as a means of underpinning local resilience and supporting economic prosperity across the whole catchment.

The Environment Agency (EA) is working with partners to develop a River Severn Strategy, building on established frameworks for the River Thames and Humber Estuary strategies. This will include modelling and options appraisals to identify a long-term programme of capital investment in water infrastructure across the whole catchment, including the tributaries of the River Teme, Warwickshire Avon and River Wye. The strategy will explore new and innovative fiscal models for funding infrastructure delivery as well as the ongoing operation of such measures. The comprehensive and holistic nature of the River Severn Strategy means that there are multiple potential partners and funding sources, and the EA is exploring many options and funding streams. Local partners have already contributed £300,000 to begin work on the strategy and this will be used as leverage in wider funding bids.

The Secretary of State was briefed on the River Severn Partnership by the Environment Agency (EA) during his recent visit to Shrewsbury where he saw the impact of prolonged floods and spoke with responders and affected businesses. The Government commends the great progress made in establishing a strategic coalition of partners from local government, business and the EA. The Government supports the ambitious plan to develop a strategy for water resources, flood risk and sustainable growth to ensure the climate resilience and future prosperity of the River Severn catchment. I would be pleased to speak further with the hon. Member and the EA as the initiative progresses.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Fly-tipping is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land. It blights local communities and the environment and is an issue the Government is committed to tackling, which is why we made tackling fly-tipping one of our manifesto commitments.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), which is a group of organisations, including rural and urban landowning groups, working with a common aim to help prevent and tackle fly-tipping.

The NFTPG is working with major landowners in England, such as the National Farmers Union and Country Land and Business Association, to increase the reporting of fly-tipping on private land. We are doing so through developing a mobile smartphone and tablet app to collect data to better understand the extent of fly-tipping nationally, along with the type and geographical pattern of incidents. This will aid the investigation of incidents and help target enforcement.

The NFTPG has published a Fly-tipping Partnership Framework, outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping. The NFTPG has also published a series of fly-tipping prevention guides for householders, businesses and landowners to help stop fly-tipping on their land.

We are also fulfilling a commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy to develop a ‘Fly-Tipping Toolkit’ that will include guidance on local partnership working between landowners, including farmers, the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency, as well as guidance on presenting robust cases to the courts to ensure tougher penalties for fly-tipping.

On 28^th September, the United Kingdom took the next step towards membership of this important and growing trading group, kicking off the first round of talks with officials from all members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The United Kingdom has made significant progress towards acceding to the agreement, with discussions on key areas such as e-commerce and procurement. We have an ambitious timeline for British accession to CPTPP and hope to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.

HM Government is committed to supporting the UK legal sector as we seek new opportunities with global trade partners in Free Trade Agreements, including addressing market access barriers and supporting recognition of professional qualifications. This work aims to open up markets like India, enabling businesses to benefit from the primacy of English law and its reputation for certainty, commerciality and market acceptability.

The Department for International Trade works with a wide range of government departments and stakeholders to promote legal services opportunities, this includes delivering a healthy programme of webinars and events about key markets including Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership members.

On 28^th September, the UK took the next step on the pathway to membership of this important and growing trading group, kicking off the first round of talks with officials from all Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries. This has been followed by technical discussions on a range of areas including e-commerce and procurement. The UK has an ambitious timeline for UK accession to CPTPP and hopes to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.

The Integrated Review identifies ‘strengthening supply chain resilience of critical goods and raw materials” as one of nine areas for action to deliver the government’s ambitions on the Indo-Pacific tilt. Ensuring the resilience of critical global supply chains is a central part of our deeper, longer-term diplomatic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

Membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership could help diversify our supply chains and increase our economic resilience by deepening our trading links across the region.

We are considering how we might expand our overseas support for agriculture, food and drink exporters, in line with the recommendations of the Trade and Agriculture Commission and will publish a response to the Commission accordingly.

There are dedicated agriculture counsellors based in China and the UAE as well as a team of trade promotion staff serving UK food and drink in 119 markets worldwide.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) provides support for businesses to understand the changes in trade with the EU via its Transition Period Enquiry Unit. Members can direct their companies to this service here - https://www.great.gov.uk/transition-period/contact/.

DIT is also developing a refreshed Export Strategy to ensure firms can take advantage of new market opportunities through better support, better incentives, and a better business environment. DIT will raise the exporting culture of the UK, take advantage of our new independent trade policy, and target our market share in the world’s fastest growing economies.

Before the pandemic hit, global trade was already in trouble. Nine out of the top ten exporting countries – including China, Japan, Germany, and the USA – all saw their exports fall in 2019 (according to UNCTAD data). The one exception to this was the United Kingdom, which overtook France to become the world’s fifth largest exporter. Our exports increased by 4.2% to £689.3bn in 2019. Latest figures show that UK exports in the 12 months to September 2020 were £624.8bn, down 7.7% on same period last year.

Sources: ‘UNCTAD Goods and Services (BPM6): Exports and imports of goods and services, annual’ and ‘ONS Balance of Payments UK, July to September 2020’.

The Government is committed to spending an additional £2 billion on cycling and walking schemes over this Parliament, and the bulk of this will go towards new infrastructure such as cycle lanes in city centres. The Spending Review on 27 October has provided an unprecedented multi-year funding settlement for active travel including £710 million of new funding which will enable those local authorities who wish to do so to deliver transformational changes in their areas. Further details will be set out in the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS 2) in the spring of 2022.

The Government is implementing a package of measures to address the shortage of drivers. Measures include maximising driver testing capacity by increasing the number of staff available to conduct tests, consulting on proposals to streamline the testing process to boost throughput of drivers, and support for training via funding apprenticeships to assist new entrants as well as the reskilling of jobseekers.

The Department undertakes rigorous analysis of the potential benefits and costs of proposed schemes before making funding decisions. Midlands Connect have previously estimated that the full costs for the complete delivery of scheme improvements to be around £200m. It is developing a strategic outline business case for this project which the Department expects to receive by the end of 2021. Any decision on further development will be taken in line with the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline policy, which will include consideration of business case and affordability, in the context of the wider rail enhancements portfolio.

Midlands Connect is currently developing proposals to improve the rail connection between Birmingham and Shrewsbury. The outputs of this work will be presented in a strategic outline business case. Electrification of the line is also being considered as part of this work, which would contribute towards the Government’s ambition to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.

Midlands Connect is currently developing proposals to improve journey times between Birmingham and Shrewsbury. Its recommendations will be presented later this year in a strategic outline business case. This will assess the infrastructure enhancements required, timescales for delivery, costs, and financial benefits of the scheme. No formal assessment has been made by the Department ahead of their expected submission.

There is a duty placed on highway authorities such as Shropshire Council, by Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area.

The highways maintenance funding provided by Government is entirely for each highway authority to determine how it is utilised to meet local needs in their respective areas, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.

*Funding includes Highways Maintenance Block, Pothole Fund, Flood/Resilience Funding, and the Pothole Action Fund funding streams

No decisions have yet been taken on the train services that will operate after HS2 services start running. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from West Coast Partnership Development and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.

The Union Connectivity Review is an independent review led by Sir Peter Hendy, the focus of which is on improving connectivity between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UCR is therefore focussing on national strategic transport corridors across the UK and I look forward to the outcomes of the review.

The Department has not made a detailed assessment of the benefits of electrification between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Further electrification of the network will play an important role in our plans to decarbonise the railway between now and 2050. As we decarbonise the railway, we will develop individual schemes carefully to deliver both decarbonisation and other benefits in a way that delivers value for money and ensures affordability.

Midlands Connect is preparing a strategic review of options for speeding up and additional services to Shrewsbury. It expects to publish the review later this year and this will form the basis for specific proposals to improve the service. No formal assessment has been made by the Department at this time.

Electrification will play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 objective. As we develop our rail decarbonisation programme, we will carefully consider the opportunity to support local economic development.

On 25 January 2021, the Secretary of State held a meeting with Highways England to discuss progress on the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan. He has asked for a report setting out progress in delivering the 18-point Action Plan and identifying actions that can be delivered early by 12 March 2021, so any accelerated works can be rapidly put in place.

The Prime Minister has confirmed that when the current national restriction period ends, the country will move to local restrictions on a 3 Tier basis. Driving lessons and driving tests were permitted under the previous Tier 3 restriction. It is not yet clear what impact the new restrictions will have on driving lessons and driving tests, but the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will update its advice on GOV.UK as soon as it has clarity.

There is currently no exemption for those with a recent positive antibody test.

For those planning to travel into England, they should check the current travel corridor list to see whether they need to isolate for 14 days. They will still be required to abide by the new national restrictions set out here even if they do not need to self-isolate on arrival.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november.

The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.

The Department’s £20 million Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial launched in 2017, supporting industry-led research and development projects, including for alternative fuels. The £23 million Hydrogen for Transport Programme, launched in 2017, funded the deployment of hydrogen vehicles and refuelling stations.

The Department’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition has made up to £20m of capital funding available to projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels to be used in aeroplanes and lorries.

The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation incentivises the supply of low carbon fuels to all modes of road transport, including HGVs.

Further plans for decarbonising freight will form part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

The Better Deal for Bus Users commitments from 2019 included a commitment to fund £50 million towards the UK’s first All-Electric Bus Town. We hope to announce the bid(s) progressing to the next stage of the All-Electric Bus Town competition soon.

In addition to this, on 11 February 2020 the Prime Minister announced £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for regions outside London. This additional investment will include at least 4,000 new Zero-Emission Buses. The funding of which will be announced in due course after the Spending Review.

Network Rail is leading development of a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS), due later this year, that will inform decisions about the scale and pace of railway decarbonisation to 2050 in our Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP).

Plans for decarbonisation on the line between Birmingham and Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton, will be informed by TDNS and the TDP. Once the final TDNS is published we will develop business cases for each electrification scheme to ensure they are deliverable and affordable.

The Department is working with Network Rail and the rail industry to support Network Rail’s delivery of a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS). TDNS will inform decisions about the scale and pace of railway decarbonisation to 2050 in our Transport Decarbonisation Plan.

In July this year Network Rail published TDNS interim findings. The report identified electrification as the preferred option to decarbonise rail traffic between Birmingham and Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton. Once the final TDNS is published we will develop business cases for each electrification scheme to ensure they are deliverable and affordable.

The Department has had no such discussions with train operators.

The Department does not collect data on CO₂ emissions on a route by route basis.

Rail is a comparatively green mode of transport, but the Government is working to further decarbonise and reduce the impact of air pollution.

Diesel freight and passenger trains in Great Britain created 1,848 kilotonnes of CO₂e last year. The Government will reduce these emissions through our ambition to phase out diesel-only trains by 2040 and deliver a net-zero transport system by 2050.

Diesel trains can also contribute to air pollution hotspots. The Department is working with Network Rail and the wider industry to monitor the impact that diesel trains have on air quality, to help us make improvements where they matter most.

Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.

The table below, which includes the number of station entries and exits at Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, may be of interest.

Total number of station entries and exits, 2018-19 financial year

Data for additional stations and years are available at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/

Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.

The table below, which includes the number of station entries and exits at Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, may be of interest.

Total number of station entries and exits, 2018-19 financial year

Data for additional stations and years are available at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/

Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.

The table below, which includes the number of station entries and exits at Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, may be of interest.

Total number of station entries and exits, 2018-19 financial year

Data for additional stations and years are available at:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/

Data from train and freight operating companies indicate that diesel train traction in Great Britain created 1,848 kilotonnes of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in the last financial year (2018-2019). This figure includes bi-mode diesel trains, as well as diesel-only trains.

The number of reported personal injury road accidents, and fatalities on the A49 between the Bayston Hill junction with the A5 and Church Stretton between 2016 and 2018 are shown in the table below.

Detailed final statistics on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2019 will be published on 30 September 2020. The latest annual published statistics are for 2018.

Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that bells are fitted and used as necessary, and the Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require all bicycles at point of sale to be fitted with a bell. The Regulations do not compel cyclists to keep a bell fitted to the bicycle after purchase, however, and the Government has no plans to change this.

• The regulation makes it mandatory for passengers to wear a face covering, if they are able to, whilst travelling on public transport in England. We are working closely with operators to ensure passengers follow this requirement closely but recognise that reasonable adjustments need to be made to allow people to eat or drink if necessary or they have a medical need to do so, to take essential medication, or there is a medical emergency.

• If someone is not complying with the regulations, operators have new powers under the Public Health Act 1984 to deny access to a service or to direct someone to leave a service if they do not wear a face covering when asked to. As a final step, operators are able to involve police, including the British Transport Police, where there is a clear breach of the rules without a reasonable excuse.

The ownership status of the national railway infrastructure in Wales and England is identical on both sides of the border, however Welsh Government have delegated authority for the Wales & Borders franchise and associated train services.

Rail links between Wales and England have been strengthened recently by the electrification of the Severn Tunnel, meaning that for the first time ever an electric railway will run from Cardiff and Newport in south Wales, through the Severn Tunnel and all the way to London Paddington.

The second Road Investment Strategy, published with the Budget, confirmed funding for the development of the A483 Pant-Llanymynech bypass proposal in cooperation with the Welsh Government. The case for constructing this scheme and others proposed along the border between England and Wales will be considered as part of future investment decisions for the strategic and major road networks.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has suspended most driver testing for up to three months to support the Government’s efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The DVSA has a reduced workforce but will continue, as a priority, to make tests available for those whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or who work in critical sectors such as health and social care. The DVSA is only using driving examiners who have volunteered to conduct these emergency tests.

The DVSA’s driving examiner training and recruitment plans are revised regularly and are based on the current backlog and forecasted demand for driving tests. The DVSA is continually evaluating the current situation and is working closely with key stakeholders from the car, motorcycle and vocational industries to establish how to begin resuming its service of providing driving tests. Driving examiner training and recruitment will be adjusted accordingly to take account of the backlog caused by suspending driving tests, and any future changed in demand for driving tests. Before practical driving tests are reintroduced, the DVSA will inform the driver training industry. This will help candidates prepare and reach the standard of driving needed to pass their test.

The DVSA remains committed to resuming testing as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with further Government advice.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has suspended most driver testing, including vocational and non-vocational car tests, for up to three months to support the Government’s efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The DVSA has a reduced workforce but will continue, as a major priority, to make tests available for those whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or who work in critical sectors such as health and social care.

The DVSA is continually evaluating the current situation and is working closely with key stakeholders from the car, motorcycle and vocational industries to establish how to begin resuming its service of providing driving tests. Before practical driving tests are reintroduced, the DVSA will inform the driver training industry. This will help candidates prepare and reach the standard of driving needed to pass their test.

The DVSA remains committed to resume testing as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with further Government advice.

We recognise that the Covid-19 outbreak has had unprecedented effects across the transport sector. The government has provided a comprehensive support package for businesses. This includes measures to support workers through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and support to businesses through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, the Coronavirus Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

We are engaging with the transport sector on a regular basis to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on their businesses and providing guidance on how to access the government’s business support schemes.

On Friday 24 April the government announced a multi-million-pound support package for essential freight services, including up to £17 million for critical routes between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, up to £10.5 million for lifeline ferry and freight services to the Isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles, and further support for critical routes between Britain and the European mainland.

The Secretary of State for Transport also confirmed that the Department for Transport has been working with the Northern Ireland Executive to develop a support package which will ensure passenger flights from Belfast and Derry-Londonderry to Great Britain are maintained during this Covid-19 response period. This will ensure that routes which are vital for those who need to travel remain open. The Department is in discussions with the relevant airlines, airports and the Northern Ireland Executive to finalise this package, guaranteeing lifeline air passenger services.

In addition, government has provided funding totalling £167 million over 3 months to support bus services in England, to keep key routes running and to provide a lifeline for those who cannot work from home.

The Department has provided £3.5m development funding to Shropshire Council in 2019/20 from the £54.4m contribution Ministers approved in March 2019 for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road. Officials will continue to work with the Council as they develop their final business case which is due to be submitted to the Department in December 2021.

The Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the scheme. The case is currently under review and a decision will be made in due course. Once approved, the scheme will progress to the Outline Business Case stage. The business case process is led by the Trust and we will continue to work with them to agree a suitable timetable. Funding will be made available following approval of the Full Business Case. Funding may be made available prior to this where appropriate, such as to support the development of the business case or for early enabling works.

The Department has received the Strategic Outline Case for the scheme. The case is currently under review and a decision will be made in due course. Once approved, the scheme will progress to the Outline Business Case stage. The business case process is led by the Trust and we will continue to work with them to agree a suitable timetable. Funding will be made available following approval of the Full Business Case. Funding may be made available prior to this where appropriate, such as to support the development of the business case or for early enabling works.

The Hospital Transformation Programme includes the creation of a dedicated and integrated emergency care service, with co-located medical and surgical specialities. This will support a reduction in overall waiting times for ambulance conveyances and deliver earlier access for patients to specialist consultants and multidisciplinary teams, including for the treatment of cardiac conditions and strokes.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is introducing a team to triage lower priority cases and diverting patients to other services to reduce attendances at accident and emergency (A&E). Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers are working with hospital staff to improve the flow of patients and coordinate one ambulance crew to care for to four patients, releasing other crews to respond to patients. A Same Day Emergency Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital receives ambulances directly, improving handover times at A&E. A £9.3 million upgrade at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will also deliver additional capacity. Further expansion plans are also being developed to manage the demand in A&E.

New National Health Service dental contracts are commissioned where additional need is identified according to regional budgets or in cases where contracts are handed back. Commissioners work with local stakeholders to identify need in these cases. The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the British Dental Association are working on reforms to the NHS dental contract in order to make the NHS dental offer more attractive for dentists and their teams.

No formal assessment has been made. However, smoking rates in the United Kingdom have reduced to 13.5% through investing in local stop smoking services, delivering targeted public health campaigns, introducing a strong regulatory framework and by encouraging smokers to switch to vaping to help them quit.

Public Health England’s evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in 2018 suggests that heat-not-burn products still pose harm to users and bystanders, although they are likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and there is evidence it is associated with risk of adverse health effects and higher all-cause mortality.

The Department has not established a technical distinction between heat-not-burn products, snus and other reduced risk products, to distinguish them from other harmful tobacco products. The Government is committed to helping people quit all forms of tobacco use, which includes the use of safer nicotine delivery such as vaping.

Public Health England’s evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in 2018 suggests that heat-not-burn products still pose harm to users and bystanders, although they are likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and there is evidence it is associated with risk of adverse health effects and higher all-cause mortality.

The Department has not established a technical distinction between heat-not-burn products, snus and other reduced risk products, to distinguish them from other harmful tobacco products. The Government is committed to helping people quit all forms of tobacco use, which includes the use of safer nicotine delivery such as vaping.

No specific assessment has been made.

Since the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union in 2020, we have continued to support people to quit smoking by investing in local stop smoking services, delivering targeted public health campaigns and enforcing a strong regulatory framework. We have also commissioned an Independent Review into Tobacco Control, which will make recommendations to support the ambition for England to be smoke-free by 2030. The Review will be published shortly.

COVID-19 pressures on urgent and emergency care services continue, including at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. This includes impacts on hospital bed capacity and reducing patient flow, through the need for enhanced infection prevention and control measures. No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the Hospital Transformation Programme (HTP) on the recruitment of staff. However, the HTP’s new clinical model will enable Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to attract prospective staff and retain the current workforce.

In March 2022 there were 31,000 calls per day to 999 in England, of which 11,700 or 37.7% were conveyed to hospital. Data for Shropshire is not held centrally.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service is working with community partners to improve ambulance performance in Shropshire. This includes reducing unnecessary conveyances through alternative clinical treatments to increase ambulance capacity; hospital liaison managers improving patient flow through accident and emergency (A&E) and reduce ambulance queues; and a new same day emergency centre supporting A&E capacity to reduce ambulance handover times. In addition, a £9.3 million upgrade of the emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury will deliver additional capacity and help improve urgent and emergency care services locally.

The configuration of the provision of local ambulance services is for local National Health Service commissioners to consider in the best interests of the local population.

We have provided £9.3 million to transform the emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and improve patient care.

The completed Strategic Outline Case was due to be submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement for regional review on 21 April 2022. Subject to the regional review, it will be submitted for national review in May.

The NHS COVID Pass in digital and letter format for both domestic and international use is currently valid for 30 days to minimise fraud risk. Expiration dates for the NHS COVID Pass will be kept under review. The expiration date on the letter refers to the validity of the 2D barcode and not the validity of an individual’s vaccination status.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s current hospitals do not provide sufficient capacity or adequate separation of facilities for emergency care and planned care. The Hospital Transformation Programme will deliver a dedicated planned care centre at the Princess Royal Hospital, with emergency and complex care being carried out at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, alongside Telford's accident and emergency Local. This will enable the Trust to significantly reduce cancellations and delays of planned activity, as well as reducing healthcare acquired infections.

The Future Fit programme was clinically led and clinicians have been involved in the process, from option development, options appraisal, consultation, stakeholder engagement and the current development of the draft Strategic Outline Case.

Doctors, nurses, therapists, managers and other staff were integral in helping develop the proposals prior to consultation. Leading up to the consultation, over 60% of consultants working at the two hospitals, as well as clinicians from across the clinical commissioning group area, were involved in the planning and development of the proposed model.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s current hospitals do not provide sufficient capacity or adequate separation of facilities for emergency care and planned care. The Hospital Transformation Programme will deliver a dedicated planned care centre at the Princess Royal Hospital, with emergency and complex care being carried out at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, alongside Telford's accident and emergency Local. This will enable the Trust to significantly reduce cancellations and delays of planned activity, as well as reducing healthcare acquired infections.

The Future Fit programme was clinically led and clinicians have been involved in the process, from option development, options appraisal, consultation, stakeholder engagement and the current development of the draft Strategic Outline Case.

Doctors, nurses, therapists, managers and other staff were integral in helping develop the proposals prior to consultation. Leading up to the consultation, over 60% of consultants working at the two hospitals, as well as clinicians from across the clinical commissioning group area, were involved in the planning and development of the proposed model.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently working with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure that the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) meets the relevant criteria. A provisional timetable has been agreed and a revised SOC is expected to be submitted for national review in late April, subject to regional review.

The Hospitals Transformation Programme plans to locate a consultant inpatient maternity unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with the specialist medical, critical care and surgical services which support emergency departments. These services include adult medicine, cardiology, respiratory medicine, critical care, abdominal surgery, urological surgery and vascular surgery. This aims to enhance timely multidisciplinary team working and support improved outcomes for mothers and babies.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are providing support to 35 challenged hospital sites to improve their patient handover processes, ensuring that these happen within an agreed timeframe and allowing ambulance crews to respond to calls.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has introduced a clinical validation team responsible for triaging lower urgency cases and where appropriate diverting patients to other services, increasing the ‘hear and treat’ rate in Shropshire. Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers at Shropshire’s acute hospitals are improving the flow of patients arriving at accident and emergency (A&E) departments, by cohorting ambulance patients at both sites. A single ambulance crew is responsible for three to four patients, releasing additional crews to respond to calls in the community.

A new Same Day Emergency Centre has opened at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which receives ambulances directly, diverting patients from A&E as clinically appropriate and improving handover times. We have also invested £9.3 million to upgrade the emergency department, delivering additional cubicles, a new and improved majors department, a designated emergency zone for children and young people and a clinical decisions unit.

A formal assessment has not yet been made as many of the process changes in the emergency departments have only recently been implemented. The reconfiguration of the emergency departments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will provide a dedicated children and young People’s zone; a clinical decisions unit; and a designated ambulance stopping place or handover cubicle, with five trolley spaces and an area for patients who do not need a cubicle or bed.

NHS England and NHS Improvement and commissioners monitor and discuss the performance of all National Health Service providers.

The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, local government and social care providers to monitor and address the underlying causes of delayed discharges. We continue to explore options to minimise delays to hospital discharge, including identifying capacity to accommodate people who no longer need acute hospital care while continuing to need other forms of support.

The National Health Service regional team in Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin is increasing social work capacity in the accident and emergency department at Shropshire and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust. Additional support being developed to ensure people are referred into social prescribing as appropriate and ‘step-up’ and ‘step-down’ care provision through the Short-Term Assessment and Rehabilitation Team.

A response was received on 4 March 2022. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure the Strategic Outline Case meets the relevant criteria, to avoid unnecessary delays and allow review and approval in a timely manner. As of March 2022, £1.1 million from a total of £6 million in early funding has been made available to the Trust to continue developing the programme.

The Hospital Transformation Programme will consolidate accident and emergency (A&E) and trauma services at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, with an A&E Local in the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. Trauma patients will benefit from earlier and improved access to specialist and multidisciplinary teams. There will be a reduced need for unnecessary secondary ambulance transfers and higher quality of care and better outcomes, including mortality rate and morbidity through reducing delays to appropriate care. Once patients are stable the model will also enable transfers to a location closer to home and the creation of a consolidated trauma service to attract and retain high quality workforce across the required specialities and at all staff levels.

Data on the average hours and minutes a week ambulances are unavailable to respond to 999 calls in Shropshire is not collected centrally.

No assessment of the potential merits of a county ambulance service for Shropshire or changes in ambulance response times has been made. Current ambulance response time standards were introduced in 2017 following the recommendations of the Ambulance Response Programme.

Data on the average hours and minutes a week ambulances are unavailable to respond to 999 calls in Shropshire is not collected centrally.

No assessment of the potential merits of a county ambulance service for Shropshire or changes in ambulance response times has been made. Current ambulance response time standards were introduced in 2017 following the recommendations of the Ambulance Response Programme.

Data on the average hours and minutes a week ambulances are unavailable to respond to 999 calls in Shropshire is not collected centrally.

No assessment of the potential merits of a county ambulance service for Shropshire or changes in ambulance response times has been made. Current ambulance response time standards were introduced in 2017 following the recommendations of the Ambulance Response Programme.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) 2021 maternity survey involved 122 National Health Service trusts in England and looked at women’s experiences in maternity care, as part of the NHS Patient Survey Programme. Of the 122 trusts, seven, including the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), were identified as performing at a ‘better than expected’ level.

The proportion of women who answered positively to questions about the care they received from the SaTH during labour and birth was significantly higher than the average for other trusts in the survey. The results directly reflect the experiences of the women and families the SaTH cares for and builds on the ‘outstanding practice’ in maternity services highlighted in the CQC’s November 2021 inspection of the Trust.

Whilst the survey also identified several questions where positive responses have declined on the previous year, these were not statistically worse nationally. The SaTH will use these indicators as a contributory guide to areas where further improvements can be made.

This information is not held in the format requested.

No funding has been made available for a national screening trial for genetic haemochromatosis as the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not commission trials for screening. This would be a consideration for the National Institute for Health Research to consider.

The UK NSC reviewed the evidence to introduce screening for Haemochromatosis in 2021 and recommended that a population screening programme should not be introduced. The UK NSC reported on the gaps in the evidence base so others might set up research trials to advance the development base for this condition.

No assessment has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement are expecting the Strategic Outline Case to be resubmitted by the Trust in the first quarter of 2022. The Department will consider it once received.

The Strategic Outline Case (SOC) on the reconfiguration of acute services across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin has not been submitted to the Department as it did not pass the criteria review performed by NHS England and NHS Improvement. Written feedback on the SOC was issued to the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust on the 17 November 2021. The SOC is currently with the trust and is being amended. NHS England and NHS Improvement are expecting it to be resubmitted in the first quarter of 2022 and the Department will consider it once it is received. The Department continues to work to ensure that the decision made by the previous Secretary of State in 2019 is implemented.

The public, which includes patients, have already been consulted on these reconfigurations, and these consultations took place between May and September 2018.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is working with West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) and community partners to reduce conveyances of some patients to hospital as clinically appropriate, providing alternate treatment and care at home or in the community. The Trust is also working with WMAS to cohort ambulance patients at accident and emergency (A&E) departments. A single ambulance crew takes responsibility for three to four patients within the A&E department, releasing crews to respond to outstanding calls in the community.

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System has also launched a winter health campaign until the end of March, encouraging the use of NHS 111 and local pharmacies. Ambulances have direct access to a same day emergency care centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to avoid conveying patients to A&E where appropriate. The Trust is also maximising patient flow through the hospital to improve A&E performance and patient handover times.

On 6 December 2021 the Government published ‘From harm to hope – a 10 year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives”’ The strategy focusses on prevention among children and young people and that treatment also has a preventative effect. The most effective and sustainable approach to reducing demand for drugs is building resilience in young people and the strategy sets out measures to prevent the onset of drug use among children and young people, including through universal education and targeted work with young people and families.

We have committed £780 million over the next three years to deliver a treatment and recovery system. Of this, £533 million will enable local authorities to commission and invest in substance misuse treatment services in England. This is in addition to the current annual Public Health Grant, with which we expect local authorities to continue to invest in drug and alcohol treatment and prevention services. This will enable better integration of mental health services and substance misuse treatment. We are working with the National Health Service to introduce effective pathways and better integration between substance misuse and mental health treatment, including improving the skills of the substance misuse workforce.

On 6 December 2021 the Government published ‘From harm to hope – a 10 year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives”’ The strategy focusses on prevention among children and young people and that treatment also has a preventative effect. The most effective and sustainable approach to reducing demand for drugs is building resilience in young people and the strategy sets out measures to prevent the onset of drug use among children and young people, including through universal education and targeted work with young people and families.

We have committed £780 million over the next three years to deliver a treatment and recovery system. Of this, £533 million will enable local authorities to commission and invest in substance misuse treatment services in England. This is in addition to the current annual Public Health Grant, with which we expect local authorities to continue to invest in drug and alcohol treatment and prevention services. This will enable better integration of mental health services and substance misuse treatment. We are working with the National Health Service to introduce effective pathways and better integration between substance misuse and mental health treatment, including improving the skills of the substance misuse workforce.

No specific assessment has yet been made. The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHSX and local commissioners to monitor and assess the extent to which general practice teams have the equipment and skills to provide remote consultations.

No specific assessment has been made.

We have no current plans to do so. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance states that patients’ input into choices on appointment mode should be sought. Practices should respect preferences for face-to-face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary.

While there has been an increase in the waiting time for a first outpatient appointment compared to pre-pandemic levels, it is not possible to attribute this to either the hospital’s modernisation or the recruitment of staff.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is undertaking a £9.3 million upgrade of its emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which will increase capacity and upgrade facilities. This will add 11 cubicles, a new and improved Majors department, a new designated emergency zone for children and young people and a new clinical decisions unit. All areas will be completed by spring 2022.

Construction is also underway on a new modular ward to add additional capacity at the Royal Shrewsbury site, creating 32 additional beds by spring 2022. The Trust has provided alternative options for outpatients, including videoconferencing and telephone appointments. A new diagnostic pod, containing magnetic resonance and computed tomography scanners, has been operational since October 2021 reducing waiting times for outpatients awaiting scans as part of their treatment plan.

Between September 2019 and February 2022, the Trust recruited 290 international nurses. From May 2022, the Trust will begin a new recruitment campaign for a further 100 international nurses.

No formal assessment has been made. While remote service delivery is effective at meeting the majority of mental health needs, it does not replace the need for face-to-face appointments for a proportion of people whose needs cannot be met by telephone. For all mental health provision, patients should have an informed choice in how their care is delivered.

Since April 2020, the provision of 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent mental health helplines has enabled services to become ‘open access’ and allows patients to self-refer to trained mental health professionals in their local area.

The Department has made no such assessment. NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with professional and regulatory bodies, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and patient organisations to support the safe and effective use of remote consultations in general practice. The Department works with NHS England and NHS Improvement, NHSX and local commissioners to monitor and assess the extent to which general practice teams have the equipment and skills to provide remote consultations.

Clinicians use their discretion to invite patients for a face-to-face consultation where this is deemed necessary.

In light of the spread of the Omicron variant, we are prioritising vaccinations and urgent appointments. Any decisions to temporarily pause elective activity will be taken to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect the National Health Service. The NHS will maintain services wherever possible, particularly for urgent and cancer care. We have provided £2 billion in 2021/22 and a further £8 billion in the next three years to increase activity and tackle backlogs in elective care services.

As of 11 January 2022, the Department had not received the strategic outline business case (SOC), as it did not pass NHS England and NHS Improvement’s fundamental criteria review. On 28 October 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement received the SOC from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and determined that it required further work and provide an option compliant with the £312 million allocation. Written feedback on the SOC was issued to the Trust on 17 November 2021. The SOC is currently being amended by the Trust and NHS England and NHS Improvement are expecting it to be resubmitted in the first quarter of 2022.

Since 9 December, individuals residing in England who have received a vaccine approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency administered overseas can record their vaccination on the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS). Those individuals are now able to book a face-to-face appointment at a specific vaccination centre to verify and record these doses in NIMS, which will then be displayed in the NHS COVID Pass.

The NHS COVID-19 App is primarily a contact tracing app. App users are anonymous so it cannot be used as proof of vaccination status. The NHS App provides access to a range of services including the NHS COVID Pass.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that the cost of a West Midland Ambulance Service incident in 2021/22 is £225.36. No such estimate has been made of the number of successful treatments of cardiac arrest resulting in return of spontaneous circulation in Shropshire. The average ambulance response time for callers triaged as having a stroke, a cardiac arrest and chest pain in Shropshire for the last 12 months is not collected centrally.

It is possible for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to remain positive for some time after the period of active COVID-19 infection. Those who test positive through a PCR test must self-isolate and follow the guidance at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

I have had no meetings or discussions with the Minister for Health and Social Services of Wales or any other representative of the Welsh government regarding the Hospitals Transformation Programme in Shropshire. The only recent meeting on this subject took place in September of this year between myself, my officials, other Honourable Members representing Shropshire constituencies, and their staff.

As part of the Spending Review settlement, we have secured £1.7 billion multi-year funding until 2024-25 for over 70 hospital upgrades. Once the Full Business Case for the new hospital in Shropshire has been developed and approved, full funding for the build will be provided, subject to the usual approval procedures.

A meeting took place between the Minister of State for Health and local MP’s regarding the Hospitals Transformation Programme in Shropshire in September 2021. As of yet no discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government concerning the Hospitals Transformation Programme in Shropshire.

As with any capital investment, the business case process is led by the Trust in question. In November 2019, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) received a strategic outline business case (SOC) for the Hospital Transformation Programme from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and determined that the SOC required further work.

In September 2021, the Department made available £370,000 to the Trust for the redevelopment of the SOC and, hence, allow the programme to progress and avoid unnecessary delays. This is part of the £6 million early funding requested by the Trust and approved in principle in November 2020 by the Department and NHSE&I. We are expecting the business case to be received by the Department and NHSE&I national teams for joint review in early 2022.

The Strategic Outline Case has been submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement regional teams for initial review. We are expecting the business case to be progressed to the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement national teams for joint review in early 2022.

The Hospital Transformation Programme or ‘Future Fit’ scheme, was assessed for affordability as part of the bidding process to become one the schemes within the sustainability and transformation partnership programme. Furthermore, any plans to improve hospital services that require significant Government funding, like the Future Fit scheme, will have their capital and revenue affordability assessed as part of the Departmental and NHS England and NHS Improvement business case assurance process

We have not made a specific assessment. Staffing and recruitment is affected by many factors at a local level and although delays to planned build programmes and the condition of the estate may contribute, data has not been collected at national level.

No recent assessment has been made.

The scheme has an allocation of £312 million, which includes any early funding. A sum of £6 million has already been approved in principle in November 2020 and a request for £370,000 of this amount is being currently reviewed. NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to work with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to ensure they maximise the impact of funding available. Any subsequent early funding requests will be subject to the usual approval processes.

NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department wrote to the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust on the 19 November 2020 approving the request in principle for £6 million of early funding to continue to develop the scheme. NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to work with the Trust to ensure they maximise the impact of funding available. Any further early funding requests will be subject to the usual approval processes.

NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department wrote to the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust on the 19 November 2020 confirming they remained committed to supporting the scheme.

Personalised care and support planning is supported by ‘Dementia: Good Care Planning – information for primary care and commissioners’ which sets out the development of care and support planning following an initial holistic assessment of a person’s health and well-being needs within the context of their whole life and family situation. The guide is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/dementia-good-care-planning-information-for-primary-care-and-commissioners/

Following the recent introduction of compulsory relationships, sex and health education in schools pupils will be taught that there are choices in relation to pregnancy with medically and legally accurate, impartial information on all options, including keeping the baby, adoption, abortion and where to get further advice. The statutory guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education

We remain committed to supporting Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust’s Future Fit scheme and have previously confirmed approval in principle of £6 million of early funding to continue to develop the sustainability and transformation partnership scheme. Once approval is granted, this funding will be provided to the Trust in the usual way.

Further breakdowns of the provisional 2020 data are not available as we are reviewing and assuring the underlying data in advance of the annual National Statistics publication in summer 2021.

In England the Abortion Regulations require that Form HSA4 be submitted to the Chief Medical Officer within 14 days of the termination.

This information is not held centrally.

The information is not held in the format requested. The Department collects data on the number of procedures rather than the number of women treated.

Guidance published by NHS Employers states that National Health Service bank staff should receive full pay for all pre-booked bank shifts they would have worked had they not needed to self-isolate due to COVID-19. Trusts may also choose to pay bank staff in self-isolation on a ‘look back’ approach, where a bank staff member’s past earnings over a reference period would be used as a basis for calculating full pay.

Where a bank staff member needs to self-isolate and there is no way to assess full pay, due to staff not having any pre-booked shifts or insufficient previous earnings, trusts will need to assess what a reasonable benchmark would be to set full pay at. Guidance issued by the Government to employers states that they should use their usual methods for calculating full pay using agreed processes at a local level and in line with NHS terms and conditions.

All Care Quality Commission registered care homes in England are currently eligible for a combination of polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR) and rapid lateral flow devices (LFDs). As part of our updated guidance on regular testing, staff have provision for two rapid LFD and one PCR test per week and residents have provision for one PCR test per month. In addition, all staff and residents have access to ‘rapid response’ testing if a positive case is detected in the home.

The current tests are very specific and the risk of false positives where the test is reacting to other viruses is extremely low. Independent, confirmatory testing of positive samples indicates a test specificity that exceeds 99.3% or a false positive rate of 1% and additional guidance has been provided to laboratories to reduce the rate even further.

The Government does not hold centrally information on the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19. In order to publish accurate figures the Government would need to collect the number of people who have been infected with the virus and to track their subsequent recovery.

To increase the supply of doctors in under-doctored areas of England, Health Education England is working with partners including the Medical Schools Council to examine the possibility of redistributing some undergraduate medical places to medical schools in these areas.

The Department for Health and Social Care is working with Health Education England (HEE) to monitor these new cohorts in England throughout their degree and postgraduate training, to ensure that all places are sufficiently funded. The Department for Education is also making additional funds available through the Teaching Grant to support increased capacity. In addition, HEE is working with National Health Service providers to ensure that there are enough Foundation Year 1 and Foundation Year 2 training posts available at the point where these students have completed their education and are ready to enter work in the NHS in England.

Throughout the pandemic, Cornwall has consistently been one of the areas with the lowest infection rates in England. During summer 2020, we observed lower COVID-19 prevalence in all regions. Throughout the summer, measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 were in place such as the national test and trace service, restrictions on large gatherings, guidance on COVID-19 secure workplaces, social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene. Furthermore, the summer allowed for more outdoor activities and socialisation which pose a lower risk of spread of COVID-19 compared to indoor activities.

The Government has increased the number of funded medical school places in England by 1,500 over the last three years – a 25% increase. As part of this record expansion, we opened five new medical schools across the country. As a result of this action, this year we have seen record numbers of medical students in training.

The Government recognises that COVID-19 is having an adverse impact on higher education providers’ income and has taken action to ensure that all medical schools in England are adequately funded.

The Government has announced a package of measures to provide further financial support to all higher education providers. This includes the provision of additional funds available through the Teaching Grant to support increasing capacity in high-cost courses.

The Government works with the General Medical Council, the Medical Schools Council and Health Education England (HEE) to engage with and support all medical schools in England. This includes the five new medical schools in Sunderland, Lancashire, Chelmsford, Lincoln and Canterbury delivered as part of the Government’s expansion in medical school places.

HEE is supporting the new medical schools to teach innovative curricula and share good practice in medical education through regular meetings. Medical schools in the United Kingdom are seen as being at the vanguard of innovative teaching across the world in areas such as immersive technology, simulation teaching and provision of remote learning through HEE’s online learning platform.

The?Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who provide advice to Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use, and which groups within the population?to prioritise.

The committee, in their interim advice - have advised that the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors in the initial phase. The prioritisation could change substantially if the first available vaccines were not considered suitable for, or effective in, older adults.

The?JCVI?and the JCVI sub-committee are currently reviewing evidence on clinical risk factors associated with serious disease and mortality from COVID-19. Following a review of the evidence, the Committee will develop advice on risk groups for any future COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The National Health Service has made arrangements to ensure that women are supported and cared for safely through pregnancy, birth and the period afterwards during this pandemic.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women have been able to have one partner of their choice with them during labour and childbirth as long as their birth partner is well and does not have COVID-19 symptoms.

Guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is clear that women should be encouraged to have a single birth partner, who has no symptoms of COVID-19, present with them during any type of labour and birth, unless the birth occurs under general anaesthetic.

Rapid turnaround testing devices have been deployed across National Health Service acute trusts throughout the autumn period.

These devices with a quick turnaround time have been made available to emergency departments to support the management of non-elective patient pathways.

The Government has not taken any recent steps to ensure that endometriosis can be detected earlier.

The Government has recently received the Inquiry Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis, the report raised a number of important issues concerning the treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis which will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work in women’s health.

Between 14 January and 20 January 2021, the median time taken to receive a test result from satellite test centres has decreased from 41 hours to 38 hours.

We are pleased to confirm that £6 million funding has been approved in principle to allow Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to develop their plans and produce a business case for this scheme.

The business case process is led by the Trust and includes a number of stages. The Trust are currently at Strategic Outline Case (SOC) stage. The SOC should include a range of options, including option/s within the original allocation (£312 million) and will go through a necessary process of assurance.

The Department will continue to work closely with the Trust to understand how the right support can be provided centrally, including any further early funding, to develop an affordable case for the scheme and to maximise the impact of this funding.

Once the final Full Business Case has been developed and approved, full funding for the build will be provided subject to the usual approval procedures.

We continue to support Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to progress the Shropshire Future Fit scheme.

As with any capital investment there is a necessary process of assurance to ensure the outcome is as intended i.e. it transforms services for the benefit of patients, as well as providing value for money for taxpayers. This process is led by the Trust, with funding usually provided when the Full Business Case has been approved. However, funding may be provided prior to this where appropriate to speed up delivery overall.

Recent improvements have been introduced to support projects centrally, for example a streamlined business case process with joint central approvals. In addition, our work on hospital design standards also provides a stronger approach to project delivery, to ensure that funding is reaching the frontline as soon and efficiently as possible.

The Department along with NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England (PHE) are currently planning for the delivery of a successful COVID-19 vaccine if one becomes available. The extent to which this is rolled out, is highly dependent on availability and the type of vaccine. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently developing plans for the delivering of the seasonal flu vaccination programme. This will include new models for delivery. Dependent on the amount of vaccine which becomes available, it is likely that we will need to mobilise additional delivery arrangements and the workforce required to manage the volume of vaccinations. This could require a mass vaccination programme.

The Vaccines Taskforce, the Department, PHE, NHS England and NHS Improvement are coordinating the planning for settings individuals can be safely vaccinated within, as well as who within the workforce will be able to provide vaccinations against COVID-19.

It is vital to protect people providing and receiving care in care homes. To address the significant spike in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), the Government stepped in to support the supply and distribution of PPE to the care sector.

We have made arrangements with 12 designated wholesalers to provide supplies to care providers registered with the Care Quality Commission. As of 21 August, we have released 192 million items of PPE through this route. We have also developed a new online PPE Portal to make it easier to request critical PPE, and all care homes have received an invitation to register on it. We continue to support Local Resilience Forums, having authorised the release of over 164 million items of PPE between 6 April and 27 August to help them respond to urgent local spikes in need across the adult social care system. To further strengthen the resilience of our supply chain, we have mobilised the National Supply Disruption Response system to respond to emergency PPE requests, including for the social care sector.

Following an initial round of whole home testing, on 3 July we began rolling out regular retesting to care homes. We initially rolled out retesting for over 65s and those caring for people with dementia. All other adult care homes are now eligible to register for test kits using the online portal and distribution to these homes began on 7 September.

Care home staff are offered weekly testing, while residents receive a test every 28 days.

Care homes should make provision, in collaboration with colleagues in primary care, to provide flu vaccination sessions for residents in a timely manner.

Primary care providers are being incentivised to work together across primary care network footprints to pool resources and collaborate to vaccinate more people. This includes the provision into care homes for both residents and staff.

During the suspension of routine dentistry during the pandemic peak there was almost no demand for dental laboratory products. Demand continues to be significantly reduced post lock down as there is continued reduced activity in both National Health Service and private dentistry due to the need for heightened infection controls.

Dental laboratories do not receive funding from the NHS. Dentists, whether NHS or private, contract directly with laboratories as third party suppliers. It is therefore not possible for the NHS to direct NHS funding to laboratories for work not commissioned by dentists. However as private companies, laboratories were and are entitled to the full range of financial support from the Treasury available to private sector businesses and individuals affected financially by COVID-19.

From 1 May, NHS England and NHS Improvement put in place a comprehensive package of primary care support to care homes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including all care homes having a named clinical lead. NHS clinical commissioning groups were asked to take immediate steps to implement consistent weekly care home ‘check ins’ (carried out remotely wherever appropriate) in order to review patients identified as a clinical priority for assessment and care, drawing on general practice and community services staff.

The Government has provided clear guidance and communications on when and how to wear a face covering and will continue to communicate this guidance to the public and stakeholders as necessary over the coming months.

Messaging around exemptions is included as a key part of Government communications on when and how to wear a face covering. The Government also continues to engage with stakeholders and charities on the issue of exemptions to support these groups. In addition, the Government is running a major proactive communications campaign on face coverings to alert the public where they are now required to wear face coverings and educate the public on how to correctly wear one.

We are currently looking at ways in which we can support people who would be more comfortable to show they are exempt from the requirement to wear face covering, using some form of optional visual cue. Those who are exempt from the regulations will be permitted to go into supermarkets and shops without wearing a face covering.

People do not need to prove they have an exemption. Staff and employees are expected to act reasonably and not challenge people on why they are not wearing a covering.

We will continue to support Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to progress the Shropshire Future Fit scheme, including identifying suitable acceleration opportunities to speed up delivery overall. This could include providing funding for enabling works to allow construction to begin in advance of Full Business Case approval.

Recent improvements have been introduced to support projects centrally, for example a streamlined business case process with joint central approvals. In addition, our work on hospital design standards also provides a stronger approach to project delivery, to ensure that funding is reaching the frontline as soon and efficiently as possible.

We recognise the crucial role unpaid carers play, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak and the important role that day services play to provide care, and respite for carers.

Decisions on the running and re-opening of day services are made on a local basis. The Social Care Institute of Excellence has worked with the Department, local government and other key sector partners, to produce guidance which will support local authorities and providers to restart day services. This was published on 10 July. In addition, Public Health England is developing guidance on the use of personal protective equipment in community settings, which will be applicable to day services.

Since the start of this pandemic we have been working closely with the sector and public health experts to put in place guidance and support for adult social care. On 15 April we published our detailed Adult Social Care Plan.

On 15 May, we published our care home support package. This responded to the latest evidence from Public Health England and recommended further measures care homes could take to minimise the risks of the virus including by limiting movement of staff. It was backed by a new £600 million Infection Control Fund for care homes to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

We have also made £3.7 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care.

For the current financial year, we are not planning on the assumption that such additional funding is necessary. Funding for patients from Wales comes from the Welsh National Health Service commissioners. This is normally via the English national tariff with recent work to agree that from this year the tariff uplift will be paid in full, with NHS Wales fully engaged in tariff setting arrangements for England. However, as part of the COVID-19 response, tariff payments are currently replaced by block payment arrangements, with NHS Wales following suit.

As health is a devolved issue, the Welsh Government is responsible for determining any investment in new hospitals in Wales.

For the National Health Service in England, the Government is committed to building 40 new hospitals as part of the Health Infrastructure Plan announced in September 2019, which includes a long-term programme of investment in new NHS hospitals.

Dentists contract with NHS England and NHS Improvement to deliver a given annual level of service in return for an agreed contract value. NHS England and NHS Improvement made an early decision in late March to continue full funding for National Health Service dental contracts despite all routine dentistry being suspended. During the restart period which began on 8 June full funding continues and activity requirements continue to be suspended. Dental practices are therefore able to gradually restart while still receiving their full NHS funding.

The country is well prepared to deal with any impacts of COVID-19 and we have stockpiles of generic drugs in the event of any supply issues or significant increases in demand.

The Government does not set prices of generic medicines. Instead we rely on competition to drive prices down. This has led to some of the lowest prices in Europe and allows prices to react to the market. In an international market this ensures that when demand is high and supply is low, prices in the United Kingdom can increase to help secure the availability of medicines for UK patients.

The Department is working closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to help ensure patients can access the medicines they need, and precautions are in place to reduce the likelihood of future shortages.

The steps being taken to protect UK supplies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak were set out in the Department’s press statement issued on 11 February 2020. This statement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-monitor-impact-of-coronavirus-on-uk-medicine-supply

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had discussions since 1 March 2020 with the Chief Executive of Royal Shrewsbury Future Fit programme on its accident and emergency service figures.

Data on funding allocated to the National Health Service to support people with alcohol addiction problems is not held centrally. Treatment for alcohol addiction is funded and provided by local authorities through the provision of the Public Health Grant. The grant is ring-fenced and subject to the conditions that it is to be used exclusively for the uptake and improvement of public health services, including alcohol treatment. £16 billion was made available over the period of the last spending review (2016/20) to be spent exclusively on public health services; and an additional £3.1 billion has been made available for the period 2019/20 for the same purpose. The grant will increase in real terms in 2020/21, which will enable local authorities to continue to invest in prevention and essential frontline health services.

I refer the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham to the answer I gave on 28 January 2020 to Question 5372.

I refer the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham to the answer I gave on 21 January 2020 to Question 2452.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2020 to Question 5374.

In March 2018 the Government backed the Future Fit proposals with £312 million. Release of this funding is subject to the usual business case approvals process, which includes approval by Departmental Ministers and HM Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has formal decision-making powers relating to service change under Regulation 23(9) of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Regulations) 2013. Where a local authority has referred a reconfiguration to him, the Secretary of State may make a final decision on the proposals and give directions to NHS England and NHS Improvement. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision that the Future Fit proposals should proceed, whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital open as an A&E Local. On 6 January 2020, he also directed NHS England to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to implement the A&E Local model.

The National Health Service has made recommendations on the legislation changes it would like to see and the Department is considering those proposals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust has faced staffing challenges in A&E departments and critical care services. Both this and an increase in attendances at the Emergency Department has resulted in doctors being on-call more frequently and working extra hours across two hospital sites. It has also been necessary to recruit temporary staff.

For the month of December 2019, 14.38% of nursing hours worked across both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, were staffed from agency.

The reconfiguration will address staffing challenges, by consolidating some emergency services onto one site and reducing duplication. The Future Fit proposals aim to deliver high quality, safe services for all patients for the long term. Achieving this will support the recruitment of the right level of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

In March 2018 the Government backed the Future Fit proposals with £312 million. Release of this funding is subject to the usual business case approvals process, which includes approval by Departmental Ministers and HM Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has formal decision-making powers relating to service change under Regulation 23(9) of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Regulations) 2013. Where a local authority has referred a reconfiguration to him, the Secretary of State may make a final decision on the proposals and give directions to NHS England and NHS Improvement. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision that the Future Fit proposals should proceed, whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital open as an A&E Local. On 6 January 2020, he also directed NHS England to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to implement the A&E Local model.

The National Health Service has made recommendations on the legislation changes it would like to see and the Department is considering those proposals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust has faced staffing challenges in A&E departments and critical care services. Both this and an increase in attendances at the Emergency Department has resulted in doctors being on-call more frequently and working extra hours across two hospital sites. It has also been necessary to recruit temporary staff.

For the month of December 2019, 14.38% of nursing hours worked across both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, were staffed from agency.

The reconfiguration will address staffing challenges, by consolidating some emergency services onto one site and reducing duplication. The Future Fit proposals aim to deliver high quality, safe services for all patients for the long term. Achieving this will support the recruitment of the right level of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

In March 2018 the Government backed the Future Fit proposals with £312 million. Release of this funding is subject to the usual business case approvals process, which includes approval by Departmental Ministers and HM Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has formal decision-making powers relating to service change under Regulation 23(9) of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Regulations) 2013. Where a local authority has referred a reconfiguration to him, the Secretary of State may make a final decision on the proposals and give directions to NHS England and NHS Improvement. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision that the Future Fit proposals should proceed, whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital open as an A&E Local. On 6 January 2020, he also directed NHS England to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to implement the A&E Local model.

The National Health Service has made recommendations on the legislation changes it would like to see and the Department is considering those proposals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust has faced staffing challenges in A&E departments and critical care services. Both this and an increase in attendances at the Emergency Department has resulted in doctors being on-call more frequently and working extra hours across two hospital sites. It has also been necessary to recruit temporary staff.

For the month of December 2019, 14.38% of nursing hours worked across both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, were staffed from agency.

The reconfiguration will address staffing challenges, by consolidating some emergency services onto one site and reducing duplication. The Future Fit proposals aim to deliver high quality, safe services for all patients for the long term. Achieving this will support the recruitment of the right level of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

In March 2018 the Government backed the Future Fit proposals with £312 million. Release of this funding is subject to the usual business case approvals process, which includes approval by Departmental Ministers and HM Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has formal decision-making powers relating to service change under Regulation 23(9) of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Regulations) 2013. Where a local authority has referred a reconfiguration to him, the Secretary of State may make a final decision on the proposals and give directions to NHS England and NHS Improvement. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision that the Future Fit proposals should proceed, whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital open as an A&E Local. On 6 January 2020, he also directed NHS England to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to implement the A&E Local model.

The National Health Service has made recommendations on the legislation changes it would like to see and the Department is considering those proposals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust has faced staffing challenges in A&E departments and critical care services. Both this and an increase in attendances at the Emergency Department has resulted in doctors being on-call more frequently and working extra hours across two hospital sites. It has also been necessary to recruit temporary staff.

For the month of December 2019, 14.38% of nursing hours worked across both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, were staffed from agency.

The reconfiguration will address staffing challenges, by consolidating some emergency services onto one site and reducing duplication. The Future Fit proposals aim to deliver high quality, safe services for all patients for the long term. Achieving this will support the recruitment of the right level of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

In March 2018 the Government backed the Future Fit proposals with £312 million. Release of this funding is subject to the usual business case approvals process, which includes approval by Departmental Ministers and HM Treasury.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has formal decision-making powers relating to service change under Regulation 23(9) of the Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Regulations) 2013. Where a local authority has referred a reconfiguration to him, the Secretary of State may make a final decision on the proposals and give directions to NHS England and NHS Improvement. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision that the Future Fit proposals should proceed, whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital open as an A&E Local. On 6 January 2020, he also directed NHS England to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to implement the A&E Local model.

The National Health Service has made recommendations on the legislation changes it would like to see and the Department is considering those proposals.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust has faced staffing challenges in A&E departments and critical care services. Both this and an increase in attendances at the Emergency Department has resulted in doctors being on-call more frequently and working extra hours across two hospital sites. It has also been necessary to recruit temporary staff.

For the month of December 2019, 14.38% of nursing hours worked across both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, were staffed from agency.

The reconfiguration will address staffing challenges, by consolidating some emergency services onto one site and reducing duplication. The Future Fit proposals aim to deliver high quality, safe services for all patients for the long term. Achieving this will support the recruitment of the right level of highly skilled doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

The interviews for the Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are taking place in January and an announcement will be made once an appointment has been confirmed.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has brought together all National Health Service and local authority organisations across the area served by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s two hospital sites. The STP has already brought the Future Fit hospital programme under its auspices as one element of the work to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. All STP members understand the critical interdependencies between primary and community care and acute hospital care, and the need to integrate services. The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Long Term Plan sets out plans to implement the out of hospital transformation.

The Future Fit consultation has been subject to a robust assurance process and a thorough review by Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The long-term health benefits of the scheme include:

- Retention of a Trauma Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH);

- Fewer cancellations of patients’ operations due to an emergency admission, as emergency and planned care will be separated;

- Access to non-complex planned care for 75% of patients within 30 minutes by car, and fewer people having to travel further for emergency care;

- Reduction in waiting times and the time patients spend in hospital;

- Improved services for the older population in Shropshire and mid-Wales;

- Improved facilities for patients and staff;

- Development of an integrated care system that joins up health and social care, transforming out of hospital care which integrates community place based, primary care, mental health, community services, social care and the voluntary sector; and

- The ability to develop a system infrastructure that makes the best use of resources, reduces duplication and achieves financial stability.

As part of the planning phase of the Future Fit programme, a Programme Execution Plan was agreed for the Future Fit Programme in 2013, with phase 1 commencing in October 2013.

The long-term efficiency savings of the Future Fit reconfiguration will be identified as part of the business case process. The Strategic Outline Case is in development and is yet to be approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department.

The interviews for the Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are taking place in January and an announcement will be made once an appointment has been confirmed.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has brought together all National Health Service and local authority organisations across the area served by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s two hospital sites. The STP has already brought the Future Fit hospital programme under its auspices as one element of the work to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. All STP members understand the critical interdependencies between primary and community care and acute hospital care, and the need to integrate services. The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Long Term Plan sets out plans to implement the out of hospital transformation.

The Future Fit consultation has been subject to a robust assurance process and a thorough review by Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The long-term health benefits of the scheme include:

- Retention of a Trauma Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH);

- Fewer cancellations of patients’ operations due to an emergency admission, as emergency and planned care will be separated;

- Access to non-complex planned care for 75% of patients within 30 minutes by car, and fewer people having to travel further for emergency care;

- Reduction in waiting times and the time patients spend in hospital;

- Improved services for the older population in Shropshire and mid-Wales;

- Improved facilities for patients and staff;

- Development of an integrated care system that joins up health and social care, transforming out of hospital care which integrates community place based, primary care, mental health, community services, social care and the voluntary sector; and

- The ability to develop a system infrastructure that makes the best use of resources, reduces duplication and achieves financial stability.

As part of the planning phase of the Future Fit programme, a Programme Execution Plan was agreed for the Future Fit Programme in 2013, with phase 1 commencing in October 2013.

The long-term efficiency savings of the Future Fit reconfiguration will be identified as part of the business case process. The Strategic Outline Case is in development and is yet to be approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department.

The interviews for the Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are taking place in January and an announcement will be made once an appointment has been confirmed.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has brought together all National Health Service and local authority organisations across the area served by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s two hospital sites. The STP has already brought the Future Fit hospital programme under its auspices as one element of the work to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. All STP members understand the critical interdependencies between primary and community care and acute hospital care, and the need to integrate services. The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Long Term Plan sets out plans to implement the out of hospital transformation.

The Future Fit consultation has been subject to a robust assurance process and a thorough review by Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The long-term health benefits of the scheme include:

- Retention of a Trauma Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH);

- Fewer cancellations of patients’ operations due to an emergency admission, as emergency and planned care will be separated;

- Access to non-complex planned care for 75% of patients within 30 minutes by car, and fewer people having to travel further for emergency care;

- Reduction in waiting times and the time patients spend in hospital;

- Improved services for the older population in Shropshire and mid-Wales;

- Improved facilities for patients and staff;

- Development of an integrated care system that joins up health and social care, transforming out of hospital care which integrates community place based, primary care, mental health, community services, social care and the voluntary sector; and

- The ability to develop a system infrastructure that makes the best use of resources, reduces duplication and achieves financial stability.

As part of the planning phase of the Future Fit programme, a Programme Execution Plan was agreed for the Future Fit Programme in 2013, with phase 1 commencing in October 2013.

The long-term efficiency savings of the Future Fit reconfiguration will be identified as part of the business case process. The Strategic Outline Case is in development and is yet to be approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department.

In September 2019 the Government launched a new Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP), which will deliver a long-term, strategic investment in the future of the National Health Service, including a new hospital building programme – through which the Government plans to build 40 new hospitals over the next 10 years.

The full shape of the HIP investment programme will be confirmed when the Department receives a multiyear capital settlement at the next capital review. In the meantime, the Secretary of State has confirmed that there will be opportunities for the NHS to put forward further new hospital projects for the next phases of the programme, and that Trusts should continue developing their plans and priorities for local NHS infrastructure.

In terms of sources of finance, the Government has launched the Infrastructure Finance Review (IFR) that is looking closely at private sector finance for public sector infrastructure. HM Treasury are aiming to publish the National Infrastructure Strategy, including a response to the IFR, at the Budget in March 2020.

The interviews for the Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are taking place in January and an announcement will be made once an appointment has been confirmed.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has brought together all National Health Service and local authority organisations across the area served by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s two hospital sites. The STP has already brought the Future Fit hospital programme under its auspices as one element of the work to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. All STP members understand the critical interdependencies between primary and community care and acute hospital care, and the need to integrate services. The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Long Term Plan sets out plans to implement the out of hospital transformation.

The Future Fit consultation has been subject to a robust assurance process and a thorough review by Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The long-term health benefits of the scheme include:

- Retention of a Trauma Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH);

- Fewer cancellations of patients’ operations due to an emergency admission, as emergency and planned care will be separated;

- Access to non-complex planned care for 75% of patients within 30 minutes by car, and fewer people having to travel further for emergency care;

- Reduction in waiting times and the time patients spend in hospital;

- Improved services for the older population in Shropshire and mid-Wales;

- Improved facilities for patients and staff;

- Development of an integrated care system that joins up health and social care, transforming out of hospital care which integrates community place based, primary care, mental health, community services, social care and the voluntary sector; and

- The ability to develop a system infrastructure that makes the best use of resources, reduces duplication and achieves financial stability.

As part of the planning phase of the Future Fit programme, a Programme Execution Plan was agreed for the Future Fit Programme in 2013, with phase 1 commencing in October 2013.

The long-term efficiency savings of the Future Fit reconfiguration will be identified as part of the business case process. The Strategic Outline Case is in development and is yet to be approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department.

The interviews for the Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust are taking place in January and an announcement will be made once an appointment has been confirmed.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) has brought together all National Health Service and local authority organisations across the area served by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s two hospital sites. The STP has already brought the Future Fit hospital programme under its auspices as one element of the work to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. All STP members understand the critical interdependencies between primary and community care and acute hospital care, and the need to integrate services. The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Long Term Plan sets out plans to implement the out of hospital transformation.

The Future Fit consultation has been subject to a robust assurance process and a thorough review by Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The long-term health benefits of the scheme include:

- Retention of a Trauma Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH);

- Fewer cancellations of patients’ operations due to an emergency admission, as emergency and planned care will be separated;

- Access to non-complex planned care for 75% of patients within 30 minutes by car, and fewer people having to travel further for emergency care;

- Reduction in waiting times and the time patients spend in hospital;

- Improved services for the older population in Shropshire and mid-Wales;

- Improved facilities for patients and staff;

- Development of an integrated care system that joins up health and social care, transforming out of hospital care which integrates community place based, primary care, mental health, community services, social care and the voluntary sector; and

- The ability to develop a system infrastructure that makes the best use of resources, reduces duplication and achieves financial stability.

As part of the planning phase of the Future Fit programme, a Programme Execution Plan was agreed for the Future Fit Programme in 2013, with phase 1 commencing in October 2013.

The long-term efficiency savings of the Future Fit reconfiguration will be identified as part of the business case process. The Strategic Outline Case is in development and is yet to be approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department.

The resource cost incurred on the reconfiguration work at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, which would have a cost to the public purse, borne by the Trust is not held centrally. The overall capital cost of the scheme is still being developed for the business case and costing includes a contingency for foreseeable cost increases, such as inflation. The preferred option in the Future Fit process will only be determined when the Strategic Outline Case is finalised and approved. The Strategic Outline Case is currently being considered by the Trust board and a draft version has been shared with the local clinical commissioning groups and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

For any capital scheme of this nature it is accepted that inflationary changes occur. Any increase in cost would apply to all options that were considered prior to consultation.

The resource cost incurred on the reconfiguration work at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, which would have a cost to the public purse, borne by the Trust is not held centrally. The overall capital cost of the scheme is still being developed for the business case and costing includes a contingency for foreseeable cost increases, such as inflation. The preferred option in the Future Fit process will only be determined when the Strategic Outline Case is finalised and approved. The Strategic Outline Case is currently being considered by the Trust board and a draft version has been shared with the local clinical commissioning groups and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

For any capital scheme of this nature it is accepted that inflationary changes occur. Any increase in cost would apply to all options that were considered prior to consultation.

The resource cost incurred on the reconfiguration work at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, which would have a cost to the public purse, borne by the Trust is not held centrally. The overall capital cost of the scheme is still being developed for the business case and costing includes a contingency for foreseeable cost increases, such as inflation. The preferred option in the Future Fit process will only be determined when the Strategic Outline Case is finalised and approved. The Strategic Outline Case is currently being considered by the Trust board and a draft version has been shared with the local clinical commissioning groups and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

For any capital scheme of this nature it is accepted that inflationary changes occur. Any increase in cost would apply to all options that were considered prior to consultation.

The Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) decision on the Future Fit scheme was taken on 29 January 2019. This decision was referred to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who sought advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. The Secretary of State’s decision was made on 2 October 2019 and was communicated to NHS England and NHS Improvement, CCGs and Telford and Wrekin Council.

Independent legal advice would need to be sought on the timings of bringing a challenge by way of judicial review.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care referred the Future Fit scheme to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for their expert advice on this matter. The IRP provided a full assessment of the Future Fit scheme, which took into account concerns about patient safety, and recommended that the new model of hospital care be implemented without delay.

On 2 October 2019, in line with the IRP’s recommendations, the Secretary of State decided that the emergency care centre should be located at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital whilst enabling as much clinically appropriate care as possible at the Princess Royal Hospital. He asked NHS England and NHS Improvement to work with the clinical commissioning groups and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to develop the accident and emergency local model.

Telford and Wrekin Council is an active member of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership. It has been fully involved in and scrutinised the Future Fit process and provided formal feedback to the public consultation undertaken by the NHS Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Telford and Wrekin CCG. The outcome of the consultation was a decision to designate the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital as an emergency care site and the Princess Royal Hospital a Planned Care site, with a 24-hour Urgent Care Centre at both hospitals.

The Council referred the Future Fit plans to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who requested advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. On 2 October 2019 the Secretary of State communicated his decision to locate the Emergency Care Centre for the region at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital whilst keeping the accident and emergency (A&E) at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) open as an A&E Local. He asked NHS England to work with the CCGs and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to develop the A&E local model and to set out details on how the model could be delivered at PRH. The Secretary of State received these details from NHS England on 5 November 2019 and requested further work, including the implementation of the A&E local model, on 6 January 2020.

Clinicians have been involved in the Future Fit process from the outset and are fully supported in bringing about the necessary changes to local hospital services in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

The consultation into the future of the hospitals in Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin has taken some time to conclude. This has been partly due to the robust nature of the assurance process and ensuring the views of the public and other stakeholders have been taken into account. CCGs have invested much time into this process to ensure that the right model was consulted on and people could have their say and their views considered. The process has also necessitated a revised business case to be submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement.

The cost of the consultation process is in line with other similar consultations of this scale.

Ministers are not in a position to comment on the length of time taken by opponents of the Future Fit process for seeking legal advice on whether to proceed towards a judicial review.